High School Never Ends
by Skipper7
Summary: AU. When Sora Takenouchi transferred to Odaiba High School she expected a normal, boring life awaiting her. But, as she quickly finds out, things aren't always as they seem in this town. TAIORA. DAIYAKO. TAKARI. MIMATO. *discontinued indefinitely*
1. fascinating new thing

**WARNING: **None.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **Everyone who has reviewed thus far.

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note: **So . . . yeah. I'm editing the chapters so the whole story will flow better. I'll leave alone the last three or so chapters, but I'm revamping some of the early ones. You never know: I may just fix some grammar or editing problems or I may be adding small bits in. Nothing big will be added, but the characterization of everyone will be more thorough. Sorry this isn't a "real" update, but I couldn't help myself!

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Please take the poll located above my bio. I'm just curious, really. :D

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

A petite red-headed girl gripped her new books tightly in her arms. Her fingers were sweating from nerves and her fingers kept sliding off the books. She sat in a large, uncomfortable chair in the middle of the principle's office, waiting for her guide to pick her up. The principal was originally going to wait with her, but an emergency had come up and he had to leave. She had ushered him out, grateful to be alone.

"This is kind of scary," she whispered to herself, pushing a piece of red hair out of her face. Normally an outgoing, bubbly girl, it felt foreign to Sora to be so nervous. Back at her old school she was constantly in the center of attention, or at the very least, completely comfortable with herself. At the moment, she had to physically stop herself from throwing down the - _her_ - books and running all the way back to her hometown.

She sighed shakily as her sneaker clad foot bounced up and down impatiently. Her wide, auburn eyes traveled around the room, trying to find something interesting to look at. Just as she was getting fixated staring at a large fish tank, a tall, lanky boy stumbled in.

"Ouch," he muttered to himself, rubbing his elbow (which had collided - seemingly painfully - to the edge of the principal's large desk).

Sora stood up quickly, eager to have something to do. The boy had to be her guide. He fit most movie descriptions, anyway. A happy, slightly awkward boy with a smile already plastered mechanically onto his face. Sora blinked, finally observing the boy's bright hair. It was vivid blue. Sora shrugged, grabbing her new backpack from the seat next to her.

The tall, blue-haired boy sucked in a few big breathes of air (it seemed he had been running) and dusted himself off. He turned around and his smile widened marginally.

"Hi, I'm Joe Kido. You must be Sora Takenouchi!" He said cheerfully, sticking out his pale hand. Sora grinned slightly at Joe, glad to have someone so friendly helping her.

"Nice to meet you," Sora mumbled, slightly embarrassed. Joe grinned widely at her.

His smile faltered for a brief second, "Sorry to keep you waiting like that. I got caught up in . . . things."

Sora almost narrowed her eyes, picking up on the way Joe had carefully omitted something from his sentence. _'Well dur, Sora. You've known him for all of five minutes and you expect him to tell you everything about himself?! The heat must be getting to my head,'_ Sora thought dryly.

Sora smiled at Joe. "It was no problem," she lied through her teeth. She didn't need to give him the expression that she couldn't take care of herself. She was just slightly aggravated . . . more like anxious, an annoying voice in her head supplied.

The boy let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. I was so worried! I mean, it's your first day and everything . . . you must be worried."

Sora shook her head, a few stray pieces of her hair falling in front of her face. "No, no. I'm not nervous."

Joe looked at her and she could see the smirk that was tugging at his lips.

"Whatever you say," he murmured, holding his hands out. Sora glanced down at them and back up at her guide.

"Uhh . . .what?"

Joe smiled again, "I was wondering if I could take your books. It's really the least I could do. I was late, after all."

Sora began to shake her head, but after a brief moment of consideration, handed her books over willingly.

"Thanks Joe. That's awfully nice of you."

"No problem," Joe muttered helpfully, his face contorting slightly at the new weight in his arms.

"W-what's your schedule like, Sora?" He wheezed out. Sora scrambled for her bag and pulled out a crisp, unfolded half piece of paper.

"I'm not really sure," she muttered, more to herself than her companion. Joe shook his head, smiling at himself.

"Of course you wouldn't know. It was stupid of me to ask. Let me take a look at it, in the meantime."

Sora was about to hand it over, before she saw the books that he was grasping tightly. "Are you sure you can," she began, before Joe waved her off with a flick of his wrist. He grunted slightly as the weight shifted to one side of his body.

"Fine. I'm fine, Sora. Don't worry 'bout it," he muttered, grabbing her schedule tightly between his fingers.

The blue-haired boy made appropriate noises and faces. He frowned in some places while smiling widely in others. After a few minutes of reading her schedule, he handed it back to her and groaned in relief now that two of his arms could support the load.

"Well?" Sora inquired pleasantly, smiling at Joe. "How is it?"

Joe smiled, "You have a pretty decent schedule, all things considered. You have math first, like me, which stinks because we have one of the meanest teachers in the school."

Sora's smiled faltered for a minute. Joe picked up on her look, but shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Sora. I'm in that class and most of the other classes you have include at least one of my friends in it. They can help you if you ever have any trouble."

"That's good to know."

Joe smiled again, "Yeah. Now, in the meantime, let's get going to your locker!"

He skillfully pointed his hand out from under the weight of the books and ushered Sora out of the door. She muttered a quick goodbye to the receptionist before following Joe through the empty corridors.

"It's quiet in here," Sora muttered, looking around.

Joe nodded, "Yeah, but at passing period this place is a zoo. My friend, Tai Kamiya, claimed I only took this job as a student guide so I could miss passing period." Joe scowled comically. "It's true I don't like pressing up with all those unknown people - who knows what kind of germs people have on them? - but I really only joined to help people out."

"I believe it," Sora agreed, nodding. She paused for a minute, "So . . . do I have any classes with this Tai Kamiya?"

"Yeah. And a bunch with my other friend, Izzy Izumi, as well. You'll get along with them great. Izzy's really smart. Tai's a loudmouth, but he's really good natured."

"It sounds like I'll like them . . ."

"Hope you do," Joe said, before letting her books fall gently to the ground. He pointed to a blue locker.

"This is yours. Number one-oh-eight."

Sora laughed, "Thanks for that."

Joe looked puzzled. "For what?"

She shook her head, "Nothing in particular, I guess. Just for being you."

He nodded solemnly, "I'm awful good at it."

Sora smiled internally to herself. Maybe this place wouldn't be as bad as she had originally thought . . .

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Davis Motomiya pointed a tanned finger at a brunette girl in his year. "I want her," he said, while lazily leaning against a locker as he waited for his friend to gather his books.

Ken Ichijouji sighed aloud, gathering his books in his arms as he turned to get up. He pushed a piece of his dark blue hair behind his hair, while regarding his best friend carefully.

"Who?" He questioned carefully, feigning interest. It wasn't that he didn't like talking, or in most cases listening, to his friend, but Davis constantly moved from girl to girl. It wasn't anything serious; he simply had fleeting crushes on girls for short periods of time. In fact, this was not the first time he had heard the phrase 'I want her' spoken through his friend's lips.

Davis sighed, as if it was so _obvious_ and why didn't Ken know already? "Duh . . . Kari Kamiya."

Ken choked on air and bit his lip to contain his laughter. Davis had never picked a girl so . . . popular before. Yolei was going to have a field day with this. For a few years, Ken had tried to keep track of Davis's love interest of the time, but after awhile he had just given up. Yolei, on the other hand, knew almost everyone of Davis's previous "love interests". And she never missed a chance to tease him about it.

"You're not serious . . . are you?"

Davis scoffed and glared at his friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Ken sighed, pinching the bridge of his noise. Why was he always the one who was responsible in this group?

"I'm just saying . . . Kari Kamiya? Really? I'm sure there's a ton of other pretty girls at our school."

"There are," Davis stated, "but I don't want them. I want her," he waggled his finger and eyed his friend.

Ken bit his lip and racked his mind for Davis's most recent crush. Nicole? Allison? He squeezed his eyes shut briefly, names flying in and out of his had. Ahh, now he remembered.

"What about Caitlin?"

Davis waved Ken off, "I'm so over her, Ken. Besides Kari Kamiya is much cuter."

"You say that about them all," Ken muttered quietly to himself.

Davis continued on as if Ken hadn't spoken. "Plus she's really sweet and kind. Did you see her helping out those special needs kids a few weeks ago? That was really nice of her. And she's so pretty and smart. I hear she gets all A's, you know?"

Ken rolled his eyes. He had heard the same speech a million times over with only slight variations.

"And she also has a boyfriend, remember? TK Takashi? Ring a bell?"

Davis pouted, crossing his arms. "You think I can't take him?" His expression turned smug. "It'll be easy. No doubt!"

Ken laughed at his friend, shaking his head so his dark tresses of hair fell in front his eyes.

"I highly doubt that."

Davis glared at Ken. "Did you _not_ just hear me? I _said_, NO DOUBT!" Davis cupped his hand around his mouth and yelled the last part. Ken glared wryly back at his friend. They stared at each other, both unblinking. A cheerful yell broke them out of their staring contest.

"Daisuke! Ken! We're going to be late again if you don't hurry up!" Both the boys broke their gaze and glanced up to see a lavender haired girl running at them, while dodging the few stragglers in the hallway.

Davis smiled briefly at his friend, before glaring at her. "I've told you not to call me Daisuke, Yolei!"

Yolei stopped running and grinned cheekily. "I know. That's why I do it."

"Come on," Ken gestured towards the door, "Let's start walking. You guys can continuing bantering while we walk."

They turned to face him at the same time. "We don't banter," they said simultaneously before regarding each other with peculiar expressions.

"Stop that!"

"Don't talk while I talk!"

Ken rolled his eyes fondly, before grabbing each of their arms and pulling them down the hallway.

"Let's just going before you two kill each other," he murmured.

The both turned to glare at him and Ken laughed.

"Say your sorry," he reprimanded, hitting Davis on the back of the neck.

Davis glared at his best friend, rubbing his neck. "Hey! Why don't you hit her too? She started it."

"Because she's a girl."

Yolei stuck her tongue out at the burgundy-haired boy. "That's right, Daisuke! I'm untouchable!"

Ken sighed and reached across to flick Yolei on the arm. Yolei grabbed her arm. "Oww! Ken, what was that for?"

Ken glanced at her, "You did start it."

She rubbed her arm. "Shuddup. You two are so mean to me. 'Specially _Daisuke_."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Yolei feigned innocence. "What are you talking about, Daisuke? Stop calling you what, exactly?"

Davis sighed, his anger building up. "That. Is. Not. My. Name."

"Tell that to your birth certificate," Ken piped in.

Davis glared at him while Yolei laughed happily.

"Don't call me that."

Yolei sighed, "Fine, fine. Why don't you like it anyway?"

Davis shrugged, "I dunno. It's just a dumb name. I needed a nickname."

"Still, you're not really supposed to give yourself one," Ken laughed at Davis's rapidly reddening face.

Davis punched his friend's arms lightly. "Shut up, Kenneth."

Ken's face sobered.

"Hey, at least I didn't call you - "

" - Kenny," Yolei finished. Ken glared at the two while they slapped high-fives.

"Let's just get to class," he muttered. Yolei nodded and Davis smiled, continuing to walk down the hallway. Yolei and Ken laughed loudly and Davis whirled around.

"Why are you guys laughing at me?!"

Yolei pointed up to the sign that read 'Science Lab'. Davis colored slightly, before grumbling and turning around.

"You could have just told me, you know," he muttered under his breath as they slipped into the classroom.

Yolei grinned cheekily, "But then it wouldn't be fun, would it?"

Davis simply rolled his eyes.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Sweat dribbled off Tai Kamiya's tan face as he dribbled the black and white ball through the onslaught of defenders. He knew it was only a gym game, but he wasn't one to lose and especially not in a sport such as _soccer_.

"Get open!" He yelled out to his teammates as he maneuvered around a blonde who had tried to steal the ball from him. Thankfully, one of his teammates listened and Tai cocked his foot back, letting the ball fly over to his friend. The boy dribbled for awhile, before passing it back to Tai. They were down by one and Tai didn't want to lose.

"I can do this," he muttered, faking left. He grinned widely when he saw a hole in their defense and ran up with a burst of speed. He came closer to the net, before lobbing his foot and sending the ball spiraling into the net. The goalie's eyes widened and he ducked while the ball flew in successfully.

"Yeah!" Tai cheered happily, holding his hand out for a high five. His teammates were talking to the other team as if nothing had happened and Tai groaned grouchily.

"Thanks for the support, guys," he mumbled, rolling his eyes. They continued to play for the rest of the period (well, technically Tai played, while the others sat back and watched) before the bell rang, signaling them back to the locker rooms. Tai groaned, disappointed that the period had ended so soon.

He jogged over to his red-headed friend, who was currently sprawled across the damp grass. He poked him in the shoulder. "Izzy. _Izzy_. Wakey, wakey."

"Oww," Izzy muttered, grabbing his shoulder. Tai laughed loudly, extracting a few stares from the retreating students.

"You're such a wimp, Iz. Now, get up." Tai pulled on his friends arm, trying - unsuccessfully - to get him to stand. Izzy groaned again.

"Get up," Tai whined, pulling harder at his arm. Izzy glared at Tai, but stood up. He breathed heavily for a few minutes.

"How can you walk? Let alone, breathe?" Izzy wheezed out. Tai rolled his eyes fondly, before supporting his friend as they walked to the locker room. He knew Izzy was just being a baby, but he really couldn't afford to be late for his next class just because Izzy wouldn't walk across the field himself.

"I dunno. Talent, I guess," Tai grinned cockily.

Izzy glared at him, still breathing heavily. "Shut up, Kamiya."

Tai let go of Izzy to clutch his heart. "Ohh, I'm wounded."

Izzy smiled faintly before shaking his head. "Just, come on."

"You're just mad because I'm better than you."

Izzy raised an eyebrow, "When did I ever say I was mad?"

Tai grinned, shrugging. "You didn't. But I'm still better!"

"Fine . . . you're better."

"At least, _I_ didn't score for the other team. Honestly, Izzy."

"I said, you're better!"

"And did you see your form, I mean, come on - ouch!"

"That's what you get."

Tai glared at his friend playfully, while peeling off his shirt. Izzy dropped on the wooden bench, still breathing heavily. Tai continued getting dressed while watching his friend with unabashed amusement.

Tai walked over (now fully clothed) and flicked Izzy on the arm.

"What?" Izzy asked crankily. Tai pointed casually to the clock.

"You might want to start getting dressed. The bell's ringing in three . . . two . . . one."

Izzy's eyes widened.

"And I'm off," Tai continued. Izzy scrambled up quickly, pulling his shirt over his head.

"No, Tai, wait!"

Tai waved his arm as he walked out the door.

"Sorry, kid!"

Izzy grumbled and began furiously shoving his clothes on.

"Crap, crap, crap," he muttered ceremoniously.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**

* * *

**

Yes, I'm rewriting this.

No, nothing big will be changed.

The overall flow of the story will improve (hopefully) though. Drop a review, if you want to. I understand if you don't want too (totally fine, since I'm just messing around with previous chapters), but if you want to comment, I accept anonymous reviews. :D


	2. the potential of you and me

**WARNING: **None.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **My family. Even though sometimes you make me want to rip my hair out. I love you all the same. :D

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note: **So . . . yeah. I'm editing the chapters so the whole story will flow better. I'll leave alone the last three or so chapters, but I'm revamping some of the early ones. You never know: I may just fix some grammar or editing problems or I may be adding small bits in. Nothing big will be added, but the characterization of everyone will be more thorough. Sorry this isn't a "real" update, but I couldn't help myself!

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Please take the poll located above my bio. I'm just curious, really. :D

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Sora finished placing her books in her locker and grabbed the few she needed before turning around to see an anxious Joe.

"Are you okay?" She asked, while readjusting her books into a more comfortable position. Joe quickly dropped his worried expression and plastered a smile on his face.

"I'm fine," he answered quickly, smiling widely. Sora repressed the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm serious, Joe. What's wrong?"

Joe's smile fell and his face grew worried again.

"It's nothing serious," he hastened to assure her, "it's just we're pretty late - even counting first days. I guess we talked too long," he laughed and scratched the back of his head. Sora raised an eyebrow and Joe blushed slightly. He slowly removed his hand.

"S-sorry. I guess, I'm hanging out with Tai too much."

Sora smiled, "It's fine. But," she frowned slightly, "if we needed to hurry up, you could have just told me."

"I know," Joe admitted, his shoulders slumping slightly, "but I really wanted you to have a stress free first day. Which is going to be hard since we have Mrs. Nicoski for first period."

Joe started walking down the hallway and Sora followed leisurely. "I'm sure she'll give us a break, though. I mean, it _is_ only my first day."

"You would think," Joe muttered. He spoke louder, "She's really mean, but she does get her point across. I just hope she doesn't scare you off."

Sora laughed slightly, "I'm sure I can take care of myself. I have been in High School for two and half years already."

"Oh . . . yeah. I know that." Joe blushed slightly.

"I know what you mean. I'm new here so it's basically like I lived on an alien planet for most of my life."

Joe nodded, "Pretty much."

"Well, I didn't. I only moved because my mother got a new job."

Joe frowned, "What about your dad?"

Sora bit her lip. Joe hurriedly spoke again, "No, no! Don't tell me. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. What's your business is your business. Sorry."

Sora smiled again, "It's not a problem. It's just . . . I don't see my dad a whole lot, so it's kind of a rough subject for me."

Joe nodded, "I can understand that. One of my . . . well, old friends, I guess."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he's not really my friend anymore, but . . . Anyway, he's not very close to his mother because his parents got divorced when he was really young."

"That's so sad . . ."

Joe nodded glumly. "Yeah . . . it really is. But enough of that!" He perked up. "Let's get going to class. Hopefully, Mrs. Nicoski will give us a break."

"You don't sound too confident about that," Sora replied.

Joe shrugged, throwing his large, black backpack over one shoulder. "I'm not really. But that's okay."

Sora smiled and nodded. "I hope everyone's like you in this school, Joe," she said softly.

Joe stiffened for a moment in surprise before breaking out in a grin. "I don't think so. But I'll always be here."

Sora resisted the urge to throw her arms around the slightly erratic boy. She briefly wondered when she had become such a softy before responding to the blue-haired boy. "Thanks . . ."

They walked in companionable silence down the corridor until Joe sighed and turned around to face the red-head. He gestured towards the door slowly.

"There it is."

"Wow . . . ?"

Joe smiled widely before becoming serious and putting his hand on the door handle. "Here we go," he muttered to himself. Sora had a smile plastered on her face, but she really doubted this Mrs. Nicoski could be _so_ bad.

Every noise in the room stopped and all the people (including the teacher) turned around to look at them. The students stared in interest while Mrs. Nicoski looked like she was going to blow a casket.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Kido."

Joe dropped his head in shame and Sora felt an unexplainable burst of anger well up in her.

"Miss . . . ?" The teacher asked, her gaze softening only slightly as she looked at Sora.

Sora smiled shakily, "Takenouchi. Sora Takenouchi."

She blushed faintly when she heard one of her classmates start humming the James Bond theme song, but mostly contained her composure.

Mrs. Nicoski glanced down at a few papers she had neatly stacked in her hand. "Ahh, yes. Since it's your first day, I'll cut you a break for being so late." She smiled slightly, before darkening. "Just don't do it again, please."

Sora nodded vigorously. "Yep. I mean, nope. Not going to happen again. You can count on me, Mrs. N!"

She held her hand up as if to high-five her, before growing red in the face and slowly retracting her hand.

Mrs. Nicoski looked slightly amused. "Joe, you can take a seat." Joe nodded and sent a sympathetic look towards Sora as he made his way to the middle of the classroom.

Mrs. Nicoski glanced around the room. "Miss Takenouchi . . . you can seat with the . . . err, green-haired girl."

Sora looked slightly puzzled, but smiled slightly as she saw a short, pale girl waving her hand energetically. She walked to her seat in the back, trying to ignore the whispers that her classmates were exchanging. _'No doubt about me,'_ she thought anxiously.

She took a seat and the green-haired girl smiled at her.

"Hey, Takenouchi, Sora Takenouchi."

Sora laughed out loud. "And you?"

The green-haired girl's face lit up. "Ohh, I'm Carleton. Allie Carleton."

"Nice to meet you Carleton, Allie Carleton."

Allie smiled as she slipped an arm around Sora's shoulder. "I think this will be the start of a beautiful comradeship."

Sora laughed, "Me too."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Meanwhile, in room 702, Davis, Ken, and Yolei exchanged notes as the teacher prattled off information they had already learned. Their regular teacher was out today, so they were stuck with a substitute who was stuck with yesterday's notes. Needless to say, not many people were paying attention. Davis looked around and stuck a crumpled piece of paper into Ken's hands.

**Ken!! Ken, answer me! I NEED TO TALK TO U!!**

_Are you trying to yell at me in a NOTE? We really should be listening, Davis. _

**Oh, plz. Even u kno its pointless. We already learned this. **

_Still . . . shouldn't we be respectful to the substitute? _

_**Yea, probably. But we wont. **_

_Fine. What is it that you need to talk to me about? _

_**If u really don't kno u shdn't be able to call urself my best friend. U kno what im talking about!! **_

Well, I don't! What are you talking about? 

**U realy shouldn't steal things, Yolei. This was a PRIVATE convo. **

You know you would have told me eventually. So, spill. And stop using chatspeak. It's infuriating. 

**Fine, fine. Ken and I were going to talk about my new (drumroll please) OPERATION! **

_No, we were not. _

**Yes, we WERE. **

I don't really care either way. Who is the innocent girl you're targeting this time? And did you already pick an operation title? Because, no offense, you suck at it. Ken and I are much better. 

**I do NOT suck. And yes, I do have a operation title. Operation: Make The Girl Fall Wildly In Love With The Irrevocably Handsome, Always Charming, Amazingly Awesome, Davis Motomiya. Or MTGFWILWTIHACAADM for short. **

_For _short_? _

. . . Yeah. As I said, leave the operation titles to me or Ken. You didn't answer my question, though. Who is the unfortunate soul this time? 

**Kari Kamiya. Correction: The amazingly hot Kari Kamiya. **

_Idiot. _

KARI KAMIYA?! ARE YOU FRIGGEN' CRAZY, DAISUKE?! 

**Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! And don't call me DAISUKE!! **

It means, hello, Kari Kamiya is SOOO out of your league. Plus, she's dating. 

**WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP SAYING THAT?!**

_It's kind of important Davis. _

**No, it's not. Minor technicality. **

Davis . . . you should really consider dating girls who are actually interested in you. 

_Girls? Interested in Davis? . . . Okay. _

**KEN! I'M GONNA KILL YO - **

_I was just kidding, Davis. _

Yeah. I knew you were, Ken. Honestly, though, Dai. You should consider it. 

**Why? Do you know a girl who's interested in me? Is she hot? **

Because I know a girl who might like you. Yes. Matter of opinion. 

_Way to get straight to the point, Yolei. _

**Cool!! Who is she? Who is she? **

Are you still going after Kari? 

**Heck, yes! Why? **

It doesn't matter . . . 

Yolei stopped writing abruptly, turning her head so that she was facing away from her two male best friends. Davis's brow furrowed and he crumpled up the piece of paper they were previously writing on and launched it at her head.

Unfortunately for all of them, the substitute was in the middle of asking questions, so the airborne piece of paper didn't go unnoticed. Yolei whirled around in her desk and glared daggers at Davis. The substitute calmly walked over and picked up the wrinkled piece of paper.

"Hmm. What do we have here?" The substitute asked, smoothing out the paper. Davis's eyes widened and he shared a frantic glance with Ken.

"Nothing," Davis and Yolei answered at the same time while Ken remained frozen in place. Davis and Yolei shared a look of repugnance before turning nervously back to the substitute.

"Really?" The tawny-haired, neat looking substitute asked firmly.

"'Ken! Ken, answer me! I need to talk to you!' Hmm . . . doesn't sound like nothing to me, don't you agree?" He directed the question at the rest of the class who agreed traitorously, not wanting to get on the bad side of the stand-in.

At the look of horror on all three children's faces, the substitute took mercy.

"Alright, alright. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I won't go on. As long as you answer me one question: What is my name?"

Davis stared blankly at the man while Yolei and Ken furiously racked their brains for any clue to the man's name. Davis glanced around the class and found, to his delight, a sympathizing classmate mouthing the man's name to him.

"You're name is Mr. Kiel," Daisuke replied confidently.

Mr. Kiel looked slightly startled and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well . . . you are correct."

"Thanks," Davis said loudly, addressing both Mr. Kiel and the blonde-haired girl who had helped him out.

Davis glanced back at Yolei and Ken who had matching looks of astonishment. Davis flashed them a peace sign.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

It was now fifth period and Sora trailed anxiously behind in the hallway. Joe had left at second period because he had a different class and she hadn't been able to catch up with him since. She had made a few friends in class (like Allie Carleton), but it was still a little awkward being the only one not taking as she made her way to her next class.

Suddenly, a red-faced, wheezing Joe Kido propelled himself in Sora's direction. Sora let out a yelp of surprise, but her momentary surprise quickly turned to happiness.

"Joe!"

Joe smiled, "Hey Sora. I'm not in your fifth period class, either, but I forget to mention that one of my friends is. Izzy. I told you about him, right?"

Sora nodded and Joe continued, "Well, he has red-hair and deep, black eyes. Ohh. I can't really describe him." Joe maneuvered his books in one hand and stuck his free hand in his pants pocket. He grimaced, searching around for awhile until he finally pulled out a tattered wallet.

"Can you get the picture? It's kind of old, but you should still be able to recognize Izzy. He's the one of the left."

Sora nodded and quickly leafed through his wallet. She smiled triumphantly when she pulled out a crumpled photograph.

"Here," she said absentmindedly as she handed Joe back his wallet.

Joe smiled at her and stuffed his wallet into his back pocket. He glanced at the clock at the wall. "I'm sorry Sora, but I have to go. My next class is on the other end of the school. Remember, the kid on the left!" Joe explained as he turned around and headed down the emptying hallway.

"I got it!" Sora yelled to him and she glanced down at the photograph in her hands. It seemed to be taken a few years ago. Joe was in the middle, smiling widely as usual. He looked the same as the kid in the photograph, except more mature and his hair was slightly longer now. To the left of him was a red-headed shorter boy. _'Izzy,'_ Sora thought absently. On their right was a blonde, attractive looking boy with his arm strung around a tall brunet. Sora whistled lowly in her throat. Sure, the blonde was hot, but the other guy was really good looking, too. Bronze skin, dark hair, a great smile . . .

The bell ringing shattered Sora of her thoughts and she blinked slowly. She glanced at the clock then her schedule.

"Shoot," she muttered before running off as she stuffed the photo in her back pocket.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

It was finally lunch time and Izzy and Tai were leisurely making their way towards their regular cafeteria table.

"Izzy," Tai whined, "The cafeteria food sucks! Why can't they actually give us _edible_ food?!"

Izzy frowned in thought before answering quickly. "Well, Tai, I suppose they want to save money. As you know, the budget was cut down a few years ago, so I suppose they're cutting down on spending."

Tai groaned. "What could they possibly spend it on? Food is the important thing!"

Izzy smiled at his friend, "Actually, education is. That is the reason we're going to school, Taichi."

Tai waved off his shorter friend offhandedly. "Yeah, yeah. I hear you."

They continued to talk for awhile before Tai turned around and promptly yelled out: "Who is _that_?"

Izzy looked up from his book (which was in his free left hand) and gave a purr of recognition. "Oh, that's Sora Takenouchi. She's in my writing class. Joe is her student guide, so he invited her to eat lunch with us. Is that okay with you?"

Tai nodded absently, a dreamy look plastered across his features. "Uh huh. Whatever you say, Izzy."

Izzy groaned, rolling his eyes at his best friend. "You've never even met the girl, Tai."

Tai pouted slightly, his lowering lip sticking out. "But I will. And it'll be amazing. You'll see!"

Izzy nodded and walked ahead. "Uh huh. Sure, Taichi."

The brown-haired boy narrowed his eyes slightly. "Izzy!" His friend ignored him and Tai tried once again, "Izzy!"

No response. Tai narrowed his eyes even further. _'That's it,'_ he thought humorously. Tai flung a piece of his white, dried out mashed potatoes and successfully hit Izzy in the back of the head. Izzy immediately stopped walking and his hand flew to the back of his head.

"Tai," he growled scarily, turning around quickly.

Tai smiled sheepishly. "You, uh, wouldn't answer me."

The red-head grinned ominously. Tai's eyes widened as he saw Izzy pick up a spoonful of his creamed corn and start to bend the plastic spoon back.

"No, Iz," Tai began. Izzy shook his head and let go of the back of the spoon. Tai ducked quickly and the spoonful of creamed corn hit the person behind him._ 'Lucky them,' _he thought airily.

"AHHH!!"

Almost every noise in the cafeteria stopped abruptly and Tai turned around slowly to see the unfortunate receiver of the flying corn. He flinched as he saw Mimi Tachikawa's outraged face.

"Who threw that?" She asked shrilly, as a few girls around her patted her down with their napkins. Just then, Matt Ishida walked by the disaster scene talking with one of his friends. Mimi's eyes narrowed and she whirled around.

"You!" She said accusingly, holding a shaking finger out at the blonde. Matt groaned barely audibly, but turned around.

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"What? What?! What do you think?!" She gestured angrily towards her white shirt (which was now splattered with Izzy's creamed corn). Matt stared blankly at her and Mimi shrieked indignatly.

"You pig," she said lowly and slowly and deliberately poured her Diet Coke over his head. Matt's eyes widened under his now wet, sopping bangs. Izzy and Tai shared a frantic glance and just like they rest of the cafeteria, waited anxiously for Matt's reaction.

"I didn't throw anything," Matt answered in calm voice. He tilted his head to the side. "Yet." He abruptly grabbed a piece of pizza off his own plate and threw it at Mimi. Mimi screeched and jumped to the side. The pizza landed in a table of Juniors. Someone yelled 'Food Fight' and suddenly the cafeteria was filled with flying food.

Izzy ducked behind a trash can, "Tai! Look what you did!"

"I didn't do anything," Tai retorted indignantly, skillfully using his (now empty) plastic tray to avoid the flying food. "You were the idiot who wouldn't answer."

Izzy began to retort, but stopped when they both saw Joe flagging them down from below their table. Tai ran quickly, dragging Izzy with him. They dove under the table and Tai grinned when he saw a flash of red hair.

"Hi. I'm Taichi Kamiya," Tai said happily, sticking out his hand at the disgruntled, red-head who was huddled up in the middle. Sora glanced at him incredulously, before she recognized him from Joe's picture.

"So you're Tai," she remarked as she held up her plate to avoid getting hit in the face with vanilla pudding.

Tai grinned and nodded. "Heard of me, have you?"

Sora rolled her eyes, "Joe told me about you. I'm Sora Takenouchi."

"So you're Sora," Tai responded happily, echoing her words. Sora grinned despite herself and found herself enjoying the playful banter between them.

"The one and only."

Tai smiled at her and Sora gestured towards the chaos surrounding them. "Does this happen often?"

"Oh, all the time. We're a big party school," Tai replied, a smile playing at his lips. Sora beamed and opened her mouth to retort when she was cut off abruptly. Apparently, when Tai and Sora were talking some teachers had come and stopped most of the food fight. Now, standing in the middle of the war-torn cafeteria, was the principal.

"Listen here, kids. All of you - that means you Henze - are going to be cleaning this up after school. Is that understood?"

The students all murmured their agreements. Izzy, Joe, Sora, and Tai crawled out from under the table and Sora brushed herself off.

The principal spotted the four and made his way over to them slowly. He smiled apologetically at Sora. "I'm so sorry this had to happen your first day. Of course, you won't have to clean after school."

Sora smiled shyly at the man, but the principal had already turned to face the three boys. "And if any of you," he looked directly at Tai, "know who started this, I urge you all to come forward. They will be severely punished."

Sora waved him off. "Don't worry, they didn't do anything. They were with me under the table the whole time."

The principal smiled and nodded. "In that case, I suppose all four of you could be excused from cleaning duty. Have a good day."

Tai watched the older man walk away before turning back to Sora. "I love you," he stated plainly. Sora cursed herself internally as a blush sprung up on her cheeks.

"N-no problem."

Tai grinned, touching her shoulder lightly. "No, seriously. My mom and dad would have killed me if I got in trouble again."

Sora smiled again, "It's really okay. I guess we're just lucky it's my first day."

"Yeah," Tai agreed. He looked at her sideways. "Umm, Sora . . . I was wondering if maybe, I could. I mean - "

He broke off, but shook his head and continued. "Can I walk you home? I mean, if that's okay with you!" Tai ignored Izzy and Joe's sniggers and looked at Sora intently.

Sora blushed and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. "T-that'd be great."

"Awesome," Tai responded, smiling widely.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Tai sighed happily as he interlaced his fingers and leaned his head back. Today had been a good day. He had started a food fight (and gotten away with it), met an amazing girl (and even walked her home) and gotten an A on his history paper (which he had written the night before).

"I can't wait 'till tomorrow," he muttered to himself, a smile playing at his lips. On his walk home with Sora, they had talked almost the whole way, and Tai was slightly surprised to find how disappointed he was when they had arrived at the Takenouchi residence. He had wished they would be able to talk more. Fortunately, Sora and he agreed that they would walk to school tomorrow.

Tai grinned as his little sister swung his door open and promptly collapsed onto his bed. "Ugh," she muttered incoherently, burying her head into his pillow.

"Have fun Kar?" Tai inquired, noting the bits and pieces of food still stuck in his sister's light brown hair.

Kari lifted her head to glare weakly at her brother. "How do you get out of _everything_?"

Tai smirked smugly at her. "Because I'm amazing. Anyway, how was it?"

"Fine. I mean, it actually got to be a little fun towards the end. TK started splashing me with water and - " Kari broke off and waved her hand offhandedly.

"It was fun. Long story short: TK made it better."

Tai scowled slightly. "That's good. As long as he didn't touch you. He didn't right, Kars?"

Kari smiled playfully at her brother's face. "Oh no, Tai. Nothing happened. We just had wild and steamy - "

"STOP!" Tai yelled, jumping up from his chair. "I'll kill him! I'll rip up his internal organs and - "

Kari put her hands up innocently as she shook with laughter. "I-I was just . . . ahaha . . . kidding, Tai."

Tai slowly sat back down in his seat, his arms crossed stubbornly over his chest. "Jeez, Kar. Don't joke about things like that. I'm going to have an aneurism."

Kari laughed lightly, "Calm down, Tai. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I know . . ."

Kari rolled her eyes fondly and pushed her bangs out her face. "Why don't you just go get some muffins? Mom didn't make them," she added when she saw the look on her brother's face.

Tai stood up eagerly. "Cool. Want one?"

"Sure. I have to call TK, anyway."

Kari laughed again at the scowl on her brother's face.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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**Ehh . . . I don't like that much. Oh well, better than the first. Review please! **  
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	3. i don't know you but i want you

**WARNING: **None.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **New Flames. For entertaining me with our pointless conversations. :D

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note: **See chapter's One and Two.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Please take the poll located above my bio. I'm just curious, really. :D

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Yolei pushed a bit of her lavender hair out of her face as she flipped through the channels on the TV. Ken was sprawled out next to her, closing his eyes until she decided on a channel. They had promised not to do anything until Davis finished soccer practice, so they were just wasting time.

Ken opened his eyes slowly and peered at the girl besides him. He cleared his throat slightly, "Yolei."

Yolei whirled her head so that she was facing Ken. "Yeah?"

"Do you . . . like Davis or something?" At the look of shock on Yolei's face, Ken hurriedly continued. "I was just wondering because at science you seemed to get flustered when he was talking about Kari and that normally doesn't bother you. And sometimes it seems like your flirting with him. I'm not sure, though. It's just a theory," he added on quietly.

Yolei blinked. How did he know? She barely knew. She had just figured out that she had a _small_, _minuscule_, _barely there_, crush on Davis. She was sure it was just a passing crush, anyway. They had been friends for ages (ever since Davis grew out of his 'girls have cooties' stage).

She slowly shook her head. "No, I don't. I mean," she racked her brain for a plausible excuse, "I like . . . someone else."

"Who? Unless you don't want to tell me . . ."

Yolei shook her head. She had to give him a name. She normally gushed to him and Davis (anyone who would listen really) who her latest crush was. It would make Ken suspicious if she didn't answer.

"I like . . . you."

Both Yolei and Ken stared at each other. _'Did I just say that?'_ Yolei thought frantically.

Ken quickly snapped up his jaw (which had seemed to taken residence on the floor) and whispered, "Are you serious?"

The lavender-haired girl furrowed her brow, feeling immensely guilty. She answered quietly, "Yeah . . . I'm . . . serious."

Ken looked doubtful. _'She's never shown any interest in me before. But that's the only possible explanation. Yolei hates lying . . .'_ Ken thought to himself. There was only one way to test his theory.

"Can I kiss you?" He stated bluntly.

Yolei gasped quietly, but nodded slowly. "I-I guess," she stammered.

He nodded shakily and they both leaned forward apprehensively. The moment their lips touched, Yolei gasped and Ken closed his eyes. _'This feels kind of . . . good. I never thought kissing Yolei would actually feel sort of normal,'_ Ken thought, thoroughly bewildered.

Yolei closed her eyes tightly and pushed her lips firmly against the dark-haired boy's lips. _'Wow . . . this is weird and good and scary,_' Yolei thought incoherently.

Suddenly the door banged opened loudly. "Honey, I'm home!" Davis sniggered. "Just kidding! What are you guys - " The rest of his sentence died in his throat as he stared at his best friends with wide eyes.

Yolei and Ken sprang apart, both flying to separate ends of the couch. Ken stared at Yolei for a second, before watching his best friend intently. Yolei could only gape at Davis.

"Whaa . . . guurgh," Davis said unintelligibly, still staring at the two.

Ken sat up quickly and reached out his hand towards Davis. "Davis, wait. I can explain."

Davis shook his head as if in a trance and flinched away from Ken's touch. Yolei looked on the verge of tears. "Davis! We're so sorry! I just want - "

"Why are you sorry?" Davis said, blinking for what seemed like the first time.

Yolei stared at him with bewilderment clear in her eyes. "Because we were . . . kissing!"

Ken nodded vigorously. "It's really not what it looks like!" The bluenette stated, sharing a quick, nervous glance with Yolei.

"That's no reason to be sorry," Davis said, looking at Yolei. "And it looks like you were kissing," he told Ken.

Both Yolei and Ken made movements to talk, but Davis held out his hand. "That's," Davis seemed to be searching for a word, "really . . . cool."

Ken shook his head and Yolei got up slowly from the couch. Ken glanced at Yolei before talking, "Dai . . . look. We need to talk."

Davis shook his head, a small smile gracing his lips. "Nah. I'm not really in the mood." He gestured towards his sweat soaked clothes. "I have to take a shower, anyway."

"Dai," Yolei began, but Davis cut her off.

"I'll see you guys, later, okay? I have to go," he walked through the door quickly. Just before he put his foot in the hallway, he glanced back at his friends.

"I-I'm happy for you guys," he said earnestly. He smiled sadly and walked out the door. Yolei and Ken both shared horrified looks.

"Oh god!" Yolei wailed, putting her head in her hands. "What have we done?"

Ken shook his head and bent down to put a comforting arm around Yolei. In his head, though, he was thinking the exact same thing.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"See you later, Kari," Tai said, scribbling a barely legible note to his mother.

Kari looked up from her history book briefly. "Where are you going?"

"I'm hanging out with Joe, Izzy, and people."

Kari raised her eyebrow and held back a laugh. "By people, do you mean Sora?" Kari laughed loudly at her brother's rapidly reddening face. It didn't take long for her to figure out something was different about him and squeeze it out of him.

"Oh be quiet, will you?" Tai asked grumpily, throwing on a light jacket. He was already a little nervous about hanging out with Sora (which was unusual in itself) and he didn't appreciate his sister's good natured ribbing.

Kari stopped laughing and smiled happily at her brother. "Just don't stay out too late, okay?"

"Yes Mom!" Tai called out teasingly, shutting the door behind him. He walked to the Takenouchi house slowly, letting his feet drag against the pavement. _'I don't know why I'm getting so nervous. It's not really a big deal. I've gone out with lots of girls before. It shouldn't be any different . . . right?'_ he wondered to himself.

He finally reached her small, two-story house and rang the doorbell with his thumb. He attempted to look nonchalant and smiled when he heard the door open. Standing in the hallway, instead of the red-head he was expecting, was an old, slightly balding man who was looking at him with wonderment.

"Ohh," the old man breathed out, nodding to himself. "So you are the old scallywag who's picking up the fair maiden. Interesting."

Tai watched the old man silently as he rambled on, a bewildered expression across his boyish features. Suddenly, a tanned, delicate hand pulled gently on the old man's shoulder. Sora came into view, smiling apologetically.

"I'm so sorry about him. He hasn't taken his pills yet and sometimes he goes on about things." She flashed him an apologetic grin, while gesturing him inside. "Just be glad he didn't think you were my boyfriend. That wouldn't have been fun." She grimaced.

Tai laughed loudly, trying to cover up the slight blush covering his cheeks. "Yeah," he muttered dumbly, scratching behind his neck. For some reason, Sora burst into laughter. Tai slowly withdrew his hand.

"Sorry . . . ?" He offered weakly.

Sora waved him off, still clutching her stomach. "No . . . ahaha . . . I'm sorry. Ahahaha . . . it's just - " She broke off, but soon regained her composure.

"I'm sorry. Would it be alright if I just changed?"

Tai glanced briefly at her casual, comfy outfit. She was dressed in faded blue jeans that were cut off at the knees and a large, red sports jersey. Her hair was messily arranged in a bun.

Tai shrugged, moving his eyes to her face. "That's fine. But you look good to me."

Sora blushed and smiled widely. "You sure?"

"Positive," Tai replied, holding out the door open for her.

Sora nodded and smiled. They walked to the park with Tai leading the way (since Sora didn't know where to go). They chatted the whole time. _'I can't believe I have this much in common with him,'_ Sora gushed internally to herself.

Ten minutes later, they were walking into a small clearing between a few sparse trees. Tai's face twisted into a grin and Sora watched as he waved happily towards of group of people. She could only recognize Izzy and Joe, but she waved when she saw them smiling at her.

"I wonder why they're all clustered up," Tai mused out loud, jogging to the group of people. Sora caught up with him easily and they skidded to a stop when they got there. Tai easily pushed his way to the center of the group, pulling Sora along with him.

"What's going on?" Tai asked, smiling widely at Joe. Joe looked vaguely concerned and Tai's eyes grew wary.

He put his hand on the blue-haired boy's shoulders. "Hey . . . what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Joe said quietly. "It's just," he gestured towards a burgundy haired boy who Sora dimly recognized from school.

"Davis," Tai breathed, starting to move, but looking back questioningly at Joe and Izzy (who had pushed his way to them).

"We don't know what's wrong," Izzy said, before Tai could ask. "We were all meeting in the park, but he was already there. He's just . . . sitting there. He won't talk."

Tai nodded and Sora could almost imagine the little gears inside Tai's head working things out.

"Alright," he said, bouncing impatiently on the heels of his feet. Joe smiled slightly at his friend and he grinned outright when he saw Tai's head intertwined with Sora's.

Joe mock rolled his eyes, "I leave her with you one day, Kamiya, and this is what you do."

Tai confusedly looked at Joe before seemingly remember that he had grabbed Sora's hand to lead her through the crowd . . . and never let go. He dropped her hand quickly, blushing while he rubbed the back of his neck. _'Must be a nervous habit,'_ Sora thought absently, a light blush gracing her cheeks.

"I'm going to go talk to him," Tai said absently, once again pushing people out of his way. He sat down with feigned nonchalance and slung his arm around Davis's shoulder. He said something to the younger boy that Sora couldn't hear. Davis nodded and Tai waved everyone off.

"Go on, people. I got this one," he gestured them off impatiently, winking at Sora. She didn't miss the apology in his eyes and she smiled and nodded.

After they had walked a few feet away, they were going over various activities to do. A large, lanky boy popped his gum loudly. "How 'bout a game of soccer?"

Izzy, Joe, and a few others groaned, but the cheers overpowered the groans. They started making teams and the lanky boy suddenly made a whining noise in his throat.

"We don't have enough players," he complained, flicking a piece of dirt off his shoulder.

Sora shrugged to herself and stood up off the bench. "I'll play."

He scoffed at her for a second, but reluctantly nodded. "Sure. You'll be on their team." He jerked his thumb towards the group on the other side of the park. Sora almost smirked, but decided kicking his butt in soccer would be revenge enough.

"Of course." She smiled innocently at him, trying to look flirtatious. He started to blush and turned away.

"Come on! Let's go kick some butt!" He yelled towards his team, pumping his fist in the air.

Two sprained ankles later, they reluctantly ended the game in a draw. Sora smirked, pushing her sweaty red hair out of her face as she jogged up to the lanky boy.

"Good game," she said, winking at him before darting off to find Joe and Izzy. She laughed when she glanced back to see the boy's bewildered face. _'Ha!' _Sora thought happily.

She talked with Izzy and Joe for an hour or so, occasionally glancing back towards Tai and Davis. Eventually, most of the people started to disperse.

"Come on," Joe said, standing up. "I'll walk you home. Tai will be here for awhile."

Sora nodded and glanced back towards the two boys. "Sure," she said softly, pushing her sore body off the bench.

"What's wrong with him?" Sora asked, after they had walked a few blocks away.

Joe blinked, "Hmm?"

Sora smiled and repeated, "What's wrong with Davis?"

The blue-haired boy's face grew stormy and he shrugged. "I wish I knew. Tai will get it out of him . . . eventually, anyway."

Sora nodded, but twisted her face up in question. "Why was he only willing to talk to Tai?"

"Well, at first, Davis looked up to him as a role model in soccer. He was constantly striving to beat Tai and Tai always helped him out. Giving him pointers and stuff," Joe elaborated, before continuing. "Then, they just started hanging out regularly. Davis eventually told Tai that he looked up towards him as a big brother and that he wanted to be like him. For some reason, Tai really took that to heart. They're really close now and Tai's constantly making sure he's okay. They really are like brothers," Joe added on, staring up at the darkening sky.

"That's so sweet," Sora said, repressing a large, movie-like sigh.

Joe smirked playfully. "Yeah. You would think so."

Sora blushed and whacked Joe in the arm. "Hey!"

He gingerly rubbed his arm and glared at Sora.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Sora nodded, blushing slightly. "That obvious, huh?"

Joe laughed. "No, not really. I just know Tai. And I feel like I'm getting to know you."

"You are," Sora said, feeling a wave of gratitude wash over her when she looked at the tall, blue-haired boy who had been her first friend in Odaiba.

Sora turned around so she could face Joe better, and walked backwards. "It's kind of ridiculous, huh? I've only known him two days and I'm acting like I'm in love with him or something."

A shadow of emotion flickered briefly over Joe's face, but he smiled (though it seemed a little forced to Sora). "No, it isn't. I mean, I hope you don't love him, but you can like people. You see Sora there's a little chemical called - "

Sora laughed, holding her hand up. "Spare me the lecture, Professor Kido."

"Doctor, actually," Joe said softly.

Sora blinked, "Doctor?"

"Yeah. I've wanted to be one for awhile."

She smiled widely. "I think you'd make a great doctor, Joe."

"Thanks."

Sora smiled and she suddenly decided to be outright. "Does . . . does he have a girlfriend?"

He looked up at her in surprise. "Who, Tai?"

"No, the Easter Bunny. Of course, Tai," Sora said, blushing because she had to repeat herself.

"Oh . . . no. He hasn't really dated since Sophomore year. I mean, he's had a few relationships, but nothing really serious. I think he likes you, though," Joe added.

"Afraid of commitment?" she asked, a little surprised at how upset she was at the notion. _'What happened to me?'_ Sora thought incredulously.

Joe glanced up, surprised. "Oh . . . no. He just dated this girl for awhile and . . ." Joe trailed off.

"Why did they break up? If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

Joe smiled a little bitterly. "Different interests."

Sora mused out loud, "It sounds like there's more to the story."

"It's not mine to tell," Joe said stiffly.

Sora gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, I'm being such a - "

"No, no. It's fine. Really." Joe smiled warily at her. His eyes were filled with kindness.

Joe continued, "Just try not to mention it, okay? At least, not yet. It's kind of a touchy subject. For all of us," he added quietly.

"I won't. Thank you, Joe. This meant a lot." Sora smiled and kissed Joe's cheek softly. Joe's face flamed red and Sora laughed, waving him goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

He could only nod.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Tai walked lazily into his sister's room, not bothering to knock. He stuffed the last of the potato chips in his mouth, throwing the bag away in his sister's pink trash can.

He sat down on her bed. "Kari, can I talk to you for a second?"

She nodded, quickly signing off from instant messaging. "Sure."

"What's going on?" She questioned.

He dismissed her slight worry with a wave of his hand. "Nothing. I just have to ask you a favor . . ."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

In a small, cheerful bathroom a pregnancy test was lazily strewn across the sink. A petite, good-looking woman was staring into the mirror with tear filled eyes. As she brought up her hand to mouth, her hand shook visibly. The test was positive. She was pregnant.

"Oh . . . my god," she sobbed.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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Review please. =]


	4. so many thoughts in my head

**WARNING: **None.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **My amazing friends. I mean, granted, most of you don't even know I write. Nevertheless, I LOVE YOU ALL! Even though I don't admit it. xD

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note: **See chapters One or Two.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Please take the poll located above my bio. I'm just curious, really. :D

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

TWEET!

TWEET!

TWEET!

Davis grumbled lowly, covering his ears with his large blue pillow. He closed his eyes briefly in peace. Finally, silence.

TWEET!

TWEET!

TWEET!

"SHUT UP! I heard you the first time!" Davis yelled angrily, giving up on any prospect of sleep. The stupid birds outside of his window were making sure of that. He grumbled lowly and threw his pillow halfheartedly at the window. It only made it halfway there, falling to the ground with a low thud.

"Shut up, Davis. Gotta get beauty sleep fo' Matt," his sister slurred loudly in the next room. Davis sighed, rolling his eyes. He sat up quickly in his bed, his dark eyes tracing the mess that was his room.

Davis sighed, getting up to go the kitchen. '_No use being awake if I'm not eating anything,'_ Davis thought wryly.

"Stupid birds," he stated out loud to himself. He pulled out a box of Lucky Charms and poured himself a heaping bowlful. Davis padded tiredly to the refrigerator, pulling out a nearly empty jug of milk.

Davis dug into his breakfast. "Mmm," he muttered appreciatively. After he was done eating, he placed his bowl into the sink before collapsing onto his coach. He shifted through the channels, settling on an old cartoon he used to watch when he was younger.

His thoughts erratically drifted from the cartoon, settling on his two best friends. "Oh God," he muttered. "Why did I have to act like such an idiot?"

He smirked slightly at himself. "They probably think I'm heartbroken or something stupid like that."

'_I don't know why I acted so weird,'_ he thought truthfully_. 'I guess it was just so . . . strange. We've always been friends. All three of us. And now, it's going to be those two . . . and _me_.'_ He growled bitterly at the thought of being a third wheel.

Davis closed his eyes briefly, his head churning uncomfortably. "Maybe I should just let them be. For awhile, I mean. Then they won't get mad at me. And I'll be able to figure out why I'm acting so weird," he muttered to himself, glancing back up at the cartoon on the TV.

Eventually, Davis drifted to sleep and a few hours later, he awoke to Jun in the shower.

"Ugh," he murmured, shoving the two throw pillows on either side of his head. His sister walked out of the bathroom, with a towel wrapped around her. She smiled at him.

"And why weren't you sleeping in your bed? Still getting up in the middle of the night to watch cartoons?"

Davis glared at her, rubbing his eyes. "I just couldn't sleep. And then, apparently, I fell asleep."

"Watching cartoons," Jun interjected from the kitchen. Davis slowly sat up, stretching leisurely.

"Yeah, yeah. Watching cartoons. Whatever floats your boat, Jun."

Jun raised an eyebrow. "Floats my boat? I think you've been spending too much time with Dad."

Davis scowled at her. She raised an eyebrow again. He was usually grumpy in the morning, but this was a different level. This was 'if-you-don't-stop-bugging-me-you'll-be-sorry' when most of the time it was just 'I'm tired-leave-me-alone'.

She reluctantly plopped down next to him on the couch, clutching her towel tightly in one hand.

"So . . ." she began.

"So what? Get to the point," Davis snapped, massaging his temple. She grimaced at him and flicked him on the arm with her free hand.

"Hey, don't blame whatever your problem is on me. It's not my fault you're in such a crappy mood, is it?"

". . . No."

"Thought so. I'll be back in a minute. That'll give you some time to think of a lie, 'kay?"

Jun winked at him as she left to get changed. Davis groaned; his sister had an uncanny ability of catching him whenever he lied. It was annoying, but she was pretty good about it. Unless it was something important, she never brought it up or ratted him out to her parent's.

Davis yawned widely, crawling off of the couch. He went to his room to get changed because in 'Jun Speak' a minute was about thirty in normal time. He got changed and was ready to go with a few minutes to spare. Twenty minutes after 'one minute' Jun walked out of her room, looking perky.

"So. What, my dear brother, is bothering you?" She asked as she started a pot of coffee for her mother.

Davis shuddered. "Don't call me 'dear' again, Jun. It reminds me of Great Aunt Mildred."

Jun laughed loudly, like she did most other things. "Fine, fine. But, seriously, what's bothering you?" She questioned as she pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down.

Her younger brother scowled at her, irritated. "I don't know why it concerns you, anyway. We always fight."

"Yeah, we do. But you're still my baby brother, right?"

He nodded, albeit reluctantly.

She looked smug. "Therefore, it concerns me."

"Fine. I just . . . Ken and . . . them . . . together," he muttered, letting his hands fall to his side. Jun sighed and shoved a cup of orange juice at him.

"Let's start from the beginning, Davis."

And Davis did. It came out of his mouth like word vomit. Everything he had been holding in, every strange thought drifting through his head, every raising concern, flew out of his mouth before he had chance to think about it. Jun listened patiently, raising her eyebrows in a few places. When Davis was finally done, Jun was sitting with her arms crossed and a smug smile on her face.

". . . What do you think it means?" Davis finally asked. He didn't like talking to his friends about his problems, so it was plain mortifying that he had just spilled everything to his older sister. Especially since his sister was a particular annoying, stupid breed of sister (at least, most of the time).

Jun continued smirking, "You tell me."

Davis's eyes widened in anger and he ground his teeth together. "If I knew in the first place, I wouldn't have told you anything at all, Jun!" He snapped, his voice getting higher and higher with every word.

Jun's smirk faltered and she looked at her brother with disbelief. "You seriously don't know?"

Davis grimaced at her and shook his head angrily. "NO!"

"Wow . . . I always knew you were thick, but not _this_ thick."

Davis got up quickly, his chair falling to the ground with an angry clatter. "Jun, I swear . . ." He left his thought unfinished, but even Jun could tell her brother was done with her innocent teasing.

"Okay, okay," she defended, holding her hands up. "Do you really want to know?" She added on.

Davis nodded stiffly, afraid that if he spoke, profanities would spill out of his mouth.

"Well," she whispered theatrically, "You . . . like her!"

Davis's face grew red and he spluttered indignantly. "I . . . do . . . NOT!"

Jun shrugged absently. "Whatever you say, little bro. But you do."

"No, I don't - "

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes."

"Oh, just shut up. You don't know what you're talking about."

Jun shrugged again. "Sure."

Davis glared at her and walked away angrily, grabbing his backpack and slamming the door loudly.

'_Jun just divulged a new level of crazy, today,' _he thought as he crossed the street. _'There is no way she knows what she's talking about . . . right?' _

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Tai whistled happily in the kitchen, whirling around the mess of eggs in the pan. He was originally going to make sunny-side-up eggs, but he settled for scrambled when the yolk broke. Tai had broken one of his most important rules - never get up earlier than you have to - so he could make breakfast for himself and his sister.

"Dam dadi doo," He sang highly, throwing some milk in with the eggs. Though he was sure they wouldn't taste good, he didn't find it in him to care. He was happy. Davis had talked to him, his friends were great, and Sora was . . . Sora.

Kari slouched into the kitchen with tired eyes and mussed hair. She glanced up at Tai sleepily, before plopping down into the kitchen chair. Kari slurred something that Tai didn't catch and put her head in her arms. Tai laughed and scraped the scrambled eggs onto two plates.

"Here you go, sunshine," He said jokingly, sliding her a plate of his scrambled eggs. Kari looked up blearily and made a strange, guttural sound in the back of her throat.

Tai grinned at her. "I'll take that as a thank you, little sister."

"How are you such a morning person? You're already hyper and it's not even a normal hour of the day." Kari raised her eyebrow. "You sure you're not on drugs?"

Kari took a hesitant bite into her brother's cooking and skillfully resisted making a face. She smiled at him and choked down another bite so she wouldn't hurt his feelings.

Tai rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm on drugs. They're called 'Happy Drugs'. You don't get to try them 'till you're thirty," he added on, smirking at her face.

Kari grimaced theatrically. "You're being protective of me over imaginary drugs. Wow, Tai."

Tai glanced at her. "Just being a big brother."

She smiled widely. "I know," she answered softly, continuing to eat his food even though it made her stomach hurt.

Tai grinned and took his first bite of his eggs. He chewed for a minute before making a face and spitting it back out into his napkin. "Eww. How did you eat that, Kari?"

He looked at her in disbelief before walking to the trash can. He scraped his eggs into the trash and tossed his plastic plate into the sink before grabbing a box of cereal.

Kari looked at him and abruptly stopped eating. "If you don't have to eat this, neither do I." Kari made a face at her plate before putting her nearly empty plate into the sink.

"It's your turn to do those," Tai said, glancing up from his cereal.

Kari whirled around with her hands on her hips. "No, it's not. I did them yesterday."

Tai grinned at her with a mouthful of cereal. He dropped his bowl into the sink smugly and turned around. "Gotta go, 'Kar. I'm picking up Sora. Have fun!" He called before slinking out the door.

"Hey! Tai, come back here," Kari yelled indignantly. Kari stood with her hands on her hips for a few minutes, before sighing. She rolled her eyes and muttered as she reluctantly started doing the dishes.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Oh. My. GOD! You look so good, Mimi," Jackie squealed appreciatively as Mimi walked into the school. Mimi walked in, arriving fashionably late (or as 'fashionably late' you can possibly arrive at school) wearing designer clothes.

Mimi smiled, flipping her hair back over her shoulder. "Thanks, Jack'. I just got this yesterday. My mom and I visited a family friend, who coincidentally works at a fashion store. He gave it to me for free." Mimi laughed with her friends as they began rambling on about their own clothes.

Mimi zoned out (a useful habit she had picked up over the summer), but continued to laugh at the right times and nodded methodically. It wasn't that she didn't like spending time with her friends; the same topics just got repetitive. Most of her friends were great, but they were always a little dull. _'Not like it used to be,'_ Mimi thought briefly, before shaking the thoughts out of her head.

She made her way towards the back of the classroom in homeroom, where she and her friend's sat everyday. Mimi doodled on her binder as her friend's shallowly rated guys on their "hotness" and Mimi was skillfully pretending to look interested. Izzy Izumi walked in, a bright smile on his face, and Mimi felt a pang out guilt. She gasped, barely audibly.

Kat, a new girl who had just started to sit with them, looked at Mimi with concern. "Mimi . . . are you okay?"

Mimi smiled at her briefly, "I'm fine. Just a little preoccupied."

"Stop with the big words, Mimi! It makes me feel so dumb," Liz, a feisty redhead, joked.

"Hey, Mr. G!"

Mimi looked up from her friends and smiled brightly at the tall brunette currently trying to high five their teacher.

"Beth!" She said, gesturing towards the back. Beth looked up and smiled back at her.

"Sure, I'll sit with you," Beth responded, answering an unasked question. Beth started walking over and looked at the group of girls surrounding Mimi.

"Over here," she muttered, grabbing Mimi's arm and pulling her to the other side of the room. Mimi's other friends glared at them and Mimi smiled apologetically at them.

"I figured you could use a little time away from your 'girlies'," Beth said, using air quotes.

Mimi laughed lightly, leaning back in her chair. "Thanks, Beth. I mean, I love them, but some days I just want to strangle them."

A condescending laugh snapped Mimi out of her happiness. She turned her head, only to find Matt Ishida smirking at her.

"What's your problem?" Beth asked, before Mimi could get a word out.

Matt threw a glare at Beth, before turning his attention back to Mimi. "Nothing."

Mimi rolled her eyes, "Just leave us alone, Ishida."

"Last name basis, are we?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Now, _go away._"

Matt smiled at her. "Of course, Tachikawa. I couldn't stand hearing your annoying, high pitched voice anymore, anyway."

"Ohh, good insult," Mimi said sarcastically, clenching her fists.

"Yeah, well - "

"Ehmm." Mimi and Matt looked up to see their teacher staring at them with amusement.

"If you two are done, I'd like to get some work done."

Mimi nodded, flushing. "Sorry, Mr. G."

Matt nodded at their teacher. "Yeah . . . sorry."

The blonde turned to walk away and Mimi glared at his retreating back. Sometimes, she really hated that boy.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

The bell run, signaling passing period, and the hall filled with students.

Kari ducked under a Senior so she could walk with her boyfriend.

"Please, TK!" She said automatically.

TK rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's bluntness. "Why? Give me one good reason." TK folded his arms comfortably.

Kari scowled at him, but soon changed her tactics. "Because your loving, awesome girlfriend asked you too?" She offered, batting her eyelashes.

"Better reason," TK stated plainly.

Kari pouted. "Why don't you like him, anyway?"

"I didn't say I didn't like him . . . but we have no idea who this kid is! He could be a total jerk. You never know," TK said, shrugging.

Kari rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "No, TK. You'll never know unless we try."

TK's defense wavered briefly, but he clamped his jaw shut again, silencing the 'fine' that crept up. "I'm still waiting for that reason."

"Hmm," Kari said, thinking. Her eyes lit up, "Tai likes him! You like Tai! Therefore, you two should get along perfectly." Kari smiled winningly and gazed up at him from underneath her bangs.

"You're reasoning sucks," TK said, rolling his eyes affectionately.

Kari sighed heavily. "But can we at least try?"

"I doubt I'm ever going to like this guy, let alone be friends with him, but I guess . . . it's fine," TK ground out.

Kari smiled brightly. "Great! Can't wait to tell Tai!"

She waved at her boyfriend, pecking him on the cheek briefly, before turning on her heels and walking quickly down the halls.

TK watched her retreating back. "The things I do for that girl," he said happily, shaking his shaggy blonde hair.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Woah," Davis breathed, ducking into the girl's bathroom. He ignored their indignant yells of "Pervert!" and slinked out the other entrance/exit. So far, he had been doing a good job of avoiding Ken and Yolei. He knew he was behaving childishly, but Davis had no idea what he was supposed to do. So for now, Davis concluded just to stay as far away from them as possible.

He ran down the hallway, trying to be inconspicuous. Suddenly, he felt a light, firm hand on his shoulder. Davis turned around an excuse already bubbling from his lips.

"I, uh . . . was running 'cause, umm, I had to go . . . to the, err, bathroom and - "

Instead of the balding, jerky teacher he expected to find, his gaze drifted over a short, sturdy brown-haired boy.

The boy smiled. "It's okay. I don't believe you."

Davis's mouth slacked. "Uhh . . .wha? Who are you?"

"Cody Hida. I'm a freshman and a hall monitor."

Davis nodded mutely.

"So . . . do you have a pass?"

Davis shrugged sheepishly. "Technically?"

Cody nodded.

" . . . No," he admitted quietly.

Cody frowned, his forehead creasing.

Davis sighed deeply. "Look . . . can't I just go today? I swear - _I swear_ - that you can get me any other day even if I do have a pass. But I really, really need to cut class today. Please," he begged shamelessly.

Cody's frowned deepened, but he reluctantly nodded. "Fine. Only because I know how you feel. But you owe me two."

Davis nodded while a grin spread across his boyish features. "Deal."

Cody nodded, smiling slightly. "I'll see you later . . . ?"

"Davis," the older boy supplied helpfully.

"Davis," Cody echoed.

Davis nodded, messing up Cody's hair. "See ya, Cody."

The other boy smiled stiffly and turned away. Davis breathed out a sigh of relief and slumped across the blue lockers.

"That was close," he said quietly. A few minutes later, he located a safe spot in the school were he could see other people, but other people couldn't see him. _'I feel like such a creep,'_ he thought to himself. With nothing else to do, he watched people during passing periods. It was really weird how much you could learn by simply watching. Joe Kido seemed to stumble on his feet - regularly. Matt Ishida charmed his teachers _and_ the hall monitors so he could go to the bathroom and style his hair. Izzy Izumi could run fast if he had the right motivation (like Tai chasing him around). Ken and Yolei were still looking for him. And Kari Kamiya kept glancing around the hallways, as if looking for someone. _'I should try this more often,'_ Davis thought to himself happily.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**

* * *

**Ehh. Review please. I'll love you forever (in the non-creepy sort of way, of course). **  
**


	5. brighter than sunshine

**WARNING: **None. :] **  
**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **Flamingpurplebunnies. My _real life_ friend. Says it all right there, really.

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** See chapter one or two, please.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Yolei sighed unhappily as she glanced around the cafeteria. Davis hadn't been at school all day and she knew it was because of what happened last night. _'Oh god,'_ Yolei thought_, 'Why did I have to go and do that?'_ Yolei spared a quick glance to Ken, who was still in line ordering his food. _'I've managed to not only hurt Davis and myself, but probably Ken as well. I'm such an idiot,' _she thought angrily. She knew everything was going to change . . . between all three of them. It was only normal. Sure, they'd say it was okay and that it wasn't weird . . . but they all knew they'd be lying. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

"Hey . . . Yolei. What's up?" Ken questioned, hesitating as what to call Yolei.

Yolei smiled weakly at her . . . boyfriend . . . and gestured towards the table. "Nothing."

Ken took a seat on her right side, purposefully avoiding the seat where Davis always sat. Yolei felt an unabashed wave of gratitude sweep over her. Ken was so sweet.

"I wonder what's wrong with Davis," Ken said conversationally, though his tone still had a hint of worry for his friend.

Yolei's head snapped up. "Why? What's wrong with him?"

Ken backed away slightly and stared at her confusedly. "I don't know . . . that's why I'm asking."

Yolei calmed down and slumped back into her chair. "I know. Sorry, Ken. I'm just a little worked up right now."

Ken nodded at her, smiling softly, before glancing back at the table where the popular kids sat. "You know, I heard that TK Takashi and Kari Kamiya were being transferred into some of our classes."

"Why?" Yolei asked. Schedule changes were rare at her school.

Ken shrugged absently as he forked a green bean. "I don't know. Some conflicts with something. I'm sure Davis won't mind, anyway." He smiled widely and his dimples were clearly visible.

Yolei smiled at him, though it was a little strained. "I'm sure he will," she muttered softly.

They continued chatting for the rest of their lunch period, but they each began to throw more and more worried glances towards the door. The bell finally rang, signifying passing period. Both Ken and Yolei gathered their things and hurried to their next class. Though it was unlikely, both of them were hoping that they would see their burgundy-haired friend at their next shared class.

Ken sat down in the front of the class while Yolei had made her way to the back (this was one of their only classes were they weren't allowed to pick their seats). Ken played with his pencil restlessly as he watched the door intently.

Suddenly, the door swung open brashly and a strange, large looking girl walked in with gum in her mouth. Her hair was bright pink and around her shoulder was a bag that had buttons covering the entirety of it.

"Hey, what's up?" The apparent substitute asked absently, dropping her bag next to the ground with a loud _thunk_. She pushed away the lesson plans so she could sit on the desk. The students shared apprehensive glances, but timidly answered her question when it was clear she was waiting for an answer.

"Haha! The ceiling! That's hilarious, Smith!" She laughed loudly and leaned back on her palms. She opened her mouth to speak, "Look. I really don't know what I'm doing here. My dad is the one of the school board members and since I'm working on a degree in teaching, I was supposed to sub for you guys.

"But, I really don't want to. So let's just have fun. If anyone asked, we worked _a lot_, okay?" She waited until everyone nodded and smiled widely.

"Now, go enjoy yourselves."

Ken smiled slightly at the strange girl before locking eyes with Yolei. He slowly made his way over to her, but in the back of his mind, he was still confused. Where exactly _was_ Davis, anyway?

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Okay, boys and girls, for this project you will have to work in a group. And no, you cannot pick your groups. I have them right here," Miss Bell waved a stack of slightly crumpled paper in her left hand for emphasize. A collective groan erupted from the class.

Suddenly, the door swung open lazily and Matt Ishida strolled in nonchalantly, with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He tossed a crisp hall pass into the hands of Miss Bell and took his seat in the back of the room.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Ishida. As I was telling the rest of the students, we are starting a group project." She paused and glanced down at her papers. "First group: Nicole, Anna, Blake and Jeff. Wait to get with your group until I say so," she added on. Miss Bell continued calling groups and glared heartily at anyone who made so much of a sound. Miss Bell was a pretty easygoing teacher, but she didn't bode well with making fun of other people.

"Okay, last group! Kali, Matt, Emma, and John. Is that everybody?" Miss Bell glanced around the room, mentally tallying up the students.

Mimi raised her hand calmly. "You forgot me."

Miss Bell glanced down at her paper and looked disgruntled. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mimi. You can go pick a group to be with."

Mimi smiled at her luck and started making her way towards Beth (who was the only person she was really friends with in the class).

"Oops, wait. Here you are. Your name is right next to Kali's." Miss Bell smiled apologetically at Mimi's crestfallen face. Mimi walked apprehensively towards her group, ignoring the apologetic glances Beth was sending her as well as the cold smirk radiating from Matt Ishida.

"So," Miss Bell began, either unaware or ignoring Mimi's supreme discomfort, "Within the group, you will be assigned a partner of whom you will work closely with. The whole group will meet regularly in here, but you can always work on it after class, if need be."

Mimi's eyes widened and she glanced fearfully at Matt. "Please no, please no."

"For example, Kali, Emma, and John are partners. Which means Mimi and Matt are also working together. Understand? Nicole, you are partners with . . ." Miss Bell kept talking, but when Mimi heard the words "Mimi and Matt" in the same sentence, her head started to spin.

Mimi took a couple a deep, shaky breaths as she fall back softly into her seat. Unfortunately, her seat was gone and when she went to sit down, her head smacked painfully with the corner of the wall.

Mimi's sight became blurry and she absently took in the sound of deep, attractive laughter coming from her right. _'Matt . . .'_ she thought vaguely. His laughter spurred her into action and she tried unsuccessfully to get up so she could knock some sense into him. For some reason, her limbs were being increasingly difficult and she couldn't get up. _'Must have hit my head harder than I thought.' _

"Mimi? Mimi? Meems?"

The voice of Beth drifted over her and she opened her heavy lids to find the face of her worried friend.

"Be," she began, but stopped when a wave of dizziness made the room spin again.

"Mimi! Hey, are you okay? I'm going to get the - oomph."

"Tachikawa?" Mimi once again opened her eyes and she would have gasped if she had been able to control her body better. Staring into her eyes were the blue, slightly worried ones of Matt Ishida.

Mimi stared at him blankly, before letting her eyes close shut and succumbing to darkness.

"Mimi? Honey, can you hear me?"

Mimi blearily opened her eyes and jumped slightly when she saw the pink, motherly face of the school nurse above her.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're up. You had a lot of people worried, honey."

"Really?" Mimi managed, trying to smile up at the concerned woman.

The nurse nodded while going to her desk to retrieve something Mimi couldn't see. "Yes. Your friend, Beth, was just here a few minutes ago. I'm sure she'll be glad when I tell her you're okay. Matt Ishida was pretty worried as well."

"Ishida?" Mimi said, scrunching her eyes up at the bright light.

"Oh, yes. He carried you all the way here. I had to physically make him leave the room, in fact."

Mimi tried to shake her head, but stopped at the dull aching that it caused. "He's probably only worried 'cause he pulled my chair out," she said bitterly.

The nurse's eyes widened. "He pulled out your chair? Oh dear, I'll have to tell your teacher."

Mimi shook her head quickly, grimacing at the pain it caused. "Nah, it's okay. It's only a thought. I'm probably wrong, anyway."

The nurse stared at her for a few minutes, before accepting her words and nodding. "If you're sure . . ."

"I'm sure."

"Well, sweetie, I'm going to call your mother. You can rest here or go to your next class. It depends on how bad you feel. What do you think?"

"I'm fine," Mimi started, but then remembered her next class was with Matt. If what the nurse said was true . . . well, she wasn't ready to look him in the eye, just yet. "Actually, on second thought, I think I'll rest here for a little longer."

"Okay, hun. Have a good rest. I have to go check on a few other students, but call if you need anything, alright?"

Mimi nodded and let her head fall back on the plastic covered pillow. She let her eyes shift closed and started thinking about things. Namely, Matt Ishida.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"That was _awesome_! Way to go!" Tai yelled excitedly, jumping out his seat and clapping enthusiastically.

The teacher smiled amusedly at the brunet. "Mr. Kamiya, please stay seated. I know Miss Takenouchi's book report was interesting, but I daresay it wasn't _that_ interesting."

Tai rolled his eyes good-naturedly and plopped down into his seat. Sora glared at Tai as she made her way back to her desk. She sat down next to Tai and smiled widely, while hitting him in the back of the head. "You idiot! You're so embarrassing!"

"Get used to it," Izzy whispered, leaning across the isle from his own desk. Sora smiled at him. Her smiled slipped from her features as she turned to berate Tai.

"Thanks for embarrassing me, Tai. I hadn't even finished the book! I made up the second part," Sora said, rolling her eyes. Tai just grinned and put his arm around her. Sora blushed slightly, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, hey. It's not my fault it's cute when you blush and stumble over your words," Tai said winningly as he morphed his face into one of innocence.

"I do not stumble over my words, you jerk!" Sora said, punching him in the arm. Tai grimaced and rubbed the spot he punched him.

"Easy, Hercules."

Sora just rolled her eyes as a barely visible blush settled on her cheekbones. They sat through another twenty minutes of badly prepared book reports (along with the rare occurrence of some great ones) until it was Tai's turn.

"Tai, come up front. You aren't getting out of this again. Now come on, get a move on," the teacher said good-naturedly, smiling as he previous tan features turned slightly pale.

"Okay, okay," Tai said confidently, sliding out of his seat. He had a smile plastered on his face as he desperately racked his brain for the book he was doing a report on. He had meant to read it, really, but he had got sidetracked last night.

"My book report is on . . ." Tai trailed off and glanced at Izzy who was discreetly trying to get his attention.

"To Kill a Mockingbird," Izzy mouthed at Tai.

Tai nodded slightly and smiled gratefully at his friend.

"This book has many difficult plot lines that it is very hard to sum up in such a short amount of time," Tai babbled, trying to run the clock out. He paused for a minute and thought deeply. He had read this book in eighth grade, so he should remember _some_ things from it.

"I think," he began timidly, still racking his brain, "that one of the main concepts of the books is one simple question: Are humans essentially good or essentially evil?"

Tai paused again, and he closed his eyes briefly. This was harder than he had thought. He opened his eyes and glanced quickly towards the teacher, who looked pleasantly surprised. He smiled widely and opened his mouth to speak.

"In fact, I think this book is a very good example of - "

The bell rang, cutting Tai off. Tai sighed with relief, visibly sagging. "Oh, thank God!"

"Tai," his teacher started warningly.

"I know, I know. I'll read the book and give you a good book report tomorrow. Deal?"

She sighed slightly, but nodded. "Fine. Just this once, though, Taichi."

"Sure thing," he replied hastily and smiled widely at the small teacher. She smiled warmly at him before gathering her things and heading to her next classroom.

"The odds of you being this lucky," Izzy began while walking up with Sora and Joe to him. He broke off and settled for just shaking his head in amazement at his messy haired friend's luck.

Joe's face crumpled in thought. "You actually _did_ start talking about one of the main concepts of the book, though."

"I did?" Tai asked eagerly.

Joe nodded. "Yeah. One of them, at least."

"Thank God," Tai said slowly, "I was trying so hard to remember!"

Sora was glaring at Tai with her arms crossed. Tai's gaze finally landed on her and he stepped back slightly from the intensity of her glare.

"What's wrong with you, Takenouchi?"

Sora's lips drew together tightly. "You sounded better than me."

Tai, Izzy, and Joe all laughed loudly.

"Ahaha . . . I know! Priceless!" Tai exclaimed, slapping his knee theatrically.

Sora dropped her mad act and she pouted. "I bet I sounded like a total idiot," she complained.

Tai cocked his head to the side. "Well, not a _total_ idiot."

Sora glared playfully at him while she smacked him lightly in the air. "Joe, Izzy, how did you put up with him all these years? I mean, he's so . . ."

She trialed off and looked around the classroom. "Where are they?"

Tai looked around, too. "I have no idea."

They laughed nervously at their obliviousness. Tai and Sora stood in an uncomfortable, strained silence for a few minutes before Sora nodded determinedly to herself.

"Hey, Tai," she began quietly.

"Yeah?" Tai prodded.

Sora blushed slightly, but looked Tai in the eyes. "Can I do something?"

Tai looked confused, but nodded. "Uhh . . . sure? You okay, Sora? You're acting kind of - oomph."

Sora pressed her lips solidly against his own and clenched her eyes shut as she felt his body stiffen. After a few seconds however, he relaxed and began to kiss back. Her eyes snapped open, before sliding shut again. She kept the kiss chaste and quick, but there was one thing that could be determined; Tai was a really great kisser. She smiled to herself.

Tai looked at her with a slightly dazed expression on his face and kept attempting to speak. His mouth would open and close rhythmically, but no sound came out, making him look very much like a fish. Sora didn't know if she should take that as a good sign or a bad sign. She bit her lip loosely.

"What . . . was that for?" He finally asked, looking at Sora with a shocked and pleased expression.

Sora shrugged uncomfortably, suddenly acutely aware that her cheeks were flaming. "I just . . . wanted to see what it was like. I'm sorry . . . ?" She offered weakly.

Tai stared at her again for a second before grinning goofily. "For what?"

"Kissing you?" She said, still apprehensive.

He bit his lip briefly before smiling brightly. "I guess you're going to have to apologize again."

"What," Sora began, but stopped short when she felt Tai's soft, smooth lips once again pressed against her own. He pulled away shortly and his face was as red as her hair.

"Sorry," she said, smiling widely.

He narrowed his eyes playfully. "You should be!"

His eyes softened and he extended his hand towards her. "Shall we?"

She grinned and resisted the urge to giggle. "We shall."

She took his hand in hers and smiled stupidly as he led her towards their next class. Sora was acutely aware that their platonic relationship just stepped over the reasonable line of friendship. And she was perfectly fine with that.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**(Later that evening) **

"Oh my god. Honey, I can't b-believe it. H-how can it be t-true? I'm pregnant! W-what are we going to do?" A nice, mild looking woman gasped out between sobs. Her body shook and she tightened her grip on the man's shirt.

The man made comforting noises and gently stroked her hair. "Don't worry, sweetie. This isn't a bad thing. It's a wonderful thing. A miracle, even," the man hastened to assure the distressed woman. He rubbed his hands over her shoulders softly.

The woman's sobs started to lessen and she looked up into her companions eyes. "Y-you're right. It's is a miracle. B-but what are they going to think? You know how he feels about this. What is e-everyone going to think?" She hiccupped wetly, wiping her red eyes. "Ohh, what am I saying? It doesn't matter. We're having a baby!" The woman said happily and snuggled into the chest of the soon-to-be father.

"Y-you're what?" A new voice broke in.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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I _really _didn't like that.

Please review, regardless. Please be considerate, as well.


	6. we could fall apart

**WARNING: **Some pretty big changes to this chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: ** Cherry Blossom Haiku. For the continuous support and great reviews. Thank you so much! =]

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** See chapter one or two, please.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Tai . . . honey, don't freak out," the woman said, standing up. She reached out her hand in an effort to calm the shaking teenager.

He pushed her hand away gruffly. "Are you kidding me? You're _pregnant_. Why can't you two ever think things through? It's not that hard really. I mean, putting on a condom isn't _that_ difficult."

Mr. Kamiya got up quickly and narrowed his eyes at his son. "Don't speak to your mother like that, Taichi."

Tai's shaking increased and he looked on the brink of breaking down. "How _could_ you? Don't you two every think about anyone other than yourselves?!"

In the other room, Kari slowly turned down her music at the sounds of yelling. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. Of course, her family wasn't perfect, but it been such a long time since they had actually yelled at each other . . .

Kari got up quietly and pushed her door open. She followed the sounds of the yelling until she was standing in their living room with an angry Tai and her two scared looking parents.

"Mom, Dad . . . what's going on?" Kari said timidly, looking innocently between the three.

Before her parents could answer, Tai spoke with ice dripping from his words. "Oh, Kar, didn't you hear? Mom's pregnant. Isn't that great?" Tai's shaking had stopped and was replaced by a cool, emotionless exterior.

Kari looked at her parent's with wide eyes before jumping up. "Oh! That's so great! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" She ran to her parent's side and hugged them both around one shoulder. After a few seconds, she turned around to Tai. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Tai . . . why aren't you excited? We're going to big siblings!"

Tai's exterior faltered and raw pain showed through, but he quickly put up his wall. He ignored Kari's question and turned to face his parents. "Oh, I forgot. You guys made me promise not to tell her. Not really fair to her, is it?" '_Or me,' _he added on silently to himself.

His father looked deeply pained and as if he wanted to reach out to his son. "Please, Tai . . . no."

Tai looked down at the beige carpet. "No, Dad. It's not fair."

Kari looked confused and she quickly went to her brother's side and grabbed his hand. "Tai . . . what are you talking about?"

He shook his head quietly and Kari visibly stepped back as she saw a drip of liquid hit the carpet.

"Mom? Dad?" She asked timidly. Her mom was crying now and her dad was consoling her. Kari narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I'm going to take Tai in my room," she said to her parents, though neither was really listening. She gently guided her brother to her bed and moved him into a sitting position carefully, making sure he didn't' hit his head.

She took a seat in her computer chair and pulled herself so that her hands were resting on his knees. "Tai . . . please talk to me."

Tai shook his head, but his voice timidly broke the strained silence. "It all happened a long, _long_ time ago . . ."

**XxFlashbackxX**

_A six-year old Taichi Kamiya looked at his parent's with wide eyes. "Y-You mean it?" _

_His parents smiled and nodded. Tai jumped up and down excitedly. "Yes! _

_He slid slowly to his sleeping sister and put his chubby hand carefully on the top of her head. "So," he whispered, "I'm going to have another little sister? Just like my Kari?" _

_Her mom was smiling and quietly ushered him out of his sister's room. _

"_Not exactly," his dad responded. "You're going to have a little brother." _

_Tai's eyes widened. "A-another me?" _

_Mrs. Kamiya laughed happily and pulled her eldest child in for a hug. "Not exactly, honey." _

_He pouted up at her. "But he'll still like what I do, right? And he'll still, you know, do what I tell him to?" _

_Mr. Kamiya laughed gruffly. He ruffled the hair on Tai's head and smiled down at him. "Don't be getting any ideas, boy." Mr. Kamiya leaned down and whispered in his ear. "Just between you and me, though; I had a brother and he did anything I said." _

"_Cool!" Tai exclaimed happily. _

_Mrs. Kamiya put her hands on her hips jokingly. "Hey, I heard that! I'm pregnant, not deaf, you two!" _

_Tai laughed and grinned so widely that his dimples showed. "I'm going to be the best big brother to him!" _

"_You've had lots of practice," his dad said kindly, glancing at his daughter's closed door. _

"_Yep!" _

_Mrs. Kamiya smiled at the two important men in her life, but suddenly crossed her arms. "I know you're excited, but it's bedtime." _

"_Buts, Mom!"_

"_Nope. Let's get you washed up." _

_Tai stuck his bottom lip out. "Fine . . ." _

_-o-_

"_I can't believe it! It's really happening. Right now! And Kari's gots to stay home with Grandma 'cause she isn't mature enough to handle this, right? Only I get to go 'cause I'm so great," Tai babbled in the backseat of the car. His father shot him an amused seat from the front seat. _

"_If you say so, Tai . . ." _

_Tai nodded vigorously, ignoring the slight amusement in his father's voice. "I do! I'm going to be the best big brother ever to . . . to . . ." Tai looked up at his father with wide eyes. "My little brother doesn't have a _name_!" He exclaimed incredulously. _

_Mr. Kamiya laughed nervously and switched lanes so he could speed a little more. "We've been debating over a few, you know." _

_Tai crossed his arms. "And why didn't you tell me, Daddy?" _

_His father looked at his son through the rearview mirror. "I'm so sorry, Tai. How could we ever forget such an important decision maker like you?" _

_Tai threw his hands up in the air. "I don't know!" _

_His father laughed as he pulled hazardously into the hospital parking lot. "We've been going over a few. Lately, though, your mother has been favoring the name Jim." _

"_Jim," Tai said, testing the foreign word on his lips. "Jim," he repeated with more gusto. _

"_I-I like it!" He finally exclaimed. _

_His father smiled at him. "Good to hear, little boy." _

"_Hey, I am _not_ little!" _

"_Let's just get going." _

"_Fine." _

_-o-_

_Tai swung his legs impatiently over the side of the large chair, waiting for his father to come back and bring him news. His father wasn't supposed to leave his side, but apparently something had happened so Tai was stuck under the watchful eye of an old, cranky nurse. _

"_This is so boring!" He heard a voice exclaim. _

_He straightened up and looked around for the voice. Anything was better than just sitting here. _

"_Why do we have to be here, anyway?" _

"_I told you," a deeper voice rang out, "your mother needs some blood work done. It's nothing serious, but I thought you would like a day out." _

_The younger boy's voice held a note of slight bewilderment. "Yeah . . . I guess." _

_The older man sighed and Tai strained his ears to listen. "Listen, Matt, can you just wait in there for a little while? I really need to . . . get something," Matt's father finished lamely. _

"_You're going out for a smoke, aren't you?" _

_The older man let out a sigh of defeat. "Yeah. Sorry, Matt. I'm trying. I really am . . . it's just - "_

" _- these things take time," Matt finished robotically. _

"_Yes. Now, you can just sit in that waiting room. I'm sure the nurse will look after you. Just tell her I'll be back in a minute, okay?" _

"_Yeah, yeah." _

_Tai shifted his head to the side as a small, blonde boy came in. His bright, blue eyes were filled with exasperation. He glanced at Tai, but turned towards the nurse quickly. "My daddy said you should take care of me when he's running an errand . . . he'll be right back," Matt added on. _

_The nurse rolled her eyes and put down her magazine. "What do I look like? A nanny." _

_Tai shook his head to himself at the same time the other boy exclaimed, "No way!" _

_The nurse glared at him, but gestured at a seat. Matt smiled at her as he made his way to the seat._

"_What do they think? I'm not busy at _all_," the nurse murmured sarcastically as she picked up her magazine again. _

_They sat there in silence for a few minutes, with Tai sneaking shy glances at the blonde boy. Finally, Tai grew so tired of waiting he dropped out of his seat and walked over to Matt. _

"_Hiya. I'm Tai." Tai smiled toothily and extended his hand. _

_Matt looked at him strangely and responded bluntly, "Why are you sticking your hand out at me?" _

_Tai looked uncomfortable and gradually pulled his hand back. "Uhh, my dad does that when he meets new people." _

"_Well, you're not your dad," the boy stated, looking at Tai distastefully. _

_Tai rolled his eyes. "Well, duh." _

_Matt looked at him skeptically. "Why'd you come over here anyway?" _

"_I'm bored." _

_Matt seemed to think about it, before nodding. "Me too. Why are you here?" _

_Tai's eyes lit up excitedly and he clapped his hands together. "My mommy's having a baby!"_

_Matt finally started to look interested and Tai smiled to himself. "Really? I have a baby brother." _

"_I have a baby sister. And now I'm going to have a baby brother too." _

"_I love being a big brother." _

_Tai laughed loudly. "Me too!" He scrunched his face up as he thought. "Hey," he started. _

"_What?" Matt asked. _

"_Can we be friends?" Tai stated bluntly. _

_Matt looked at him with a shocked expression before nodding. "Yeah, I guess so." _

_Tai nodded his head. "Cool!" _

"_So, now what do you want to do?" _

"_Play, silly!" _

_Matt let himself be pulled by the larger boy and he laughed loudly. _

_-o-_

"_Okay. One . . . two . . . three," Tai began counting as Matt found a place to hide (while staying in the waiting room), but he stopped suddenly when a large hand gripped his shoulder. _

_He opened his eyes quickly and whirled around. "Ahh! Who is it? Dad . . . ?" _

_Tai looked at his father with wide eyes. It wasn't as if he wasn't expecting to see his father, but he definitely wasn't expecting to see his father like _this_. His father was wearing a expression that was a mix between sadness, relief, and tiredness. _

"_D-daddy," Tai began timidly, glancing quickly at Matt (who was observing from the other end of the room), "w-what's wrong?" _

_His father chin trembled as he leaned down and brought his son in for a tight hug. Tai blinked in confusion, but carefully placed his hands around his father's shoulders and hugged him back. _

"_Dad? Dad, what is it? Is my brother here, yet?" Tai pulled away and smiled excitedly at his father. _

_Mr. Kamiya shut his eyes tightly and he looked at his son with a mixture of pain and pity. "I don't . . ." He took a moment to compose himself. "I don't know how to tell you this, but . . . your brother didn't make it." _

_Tai scrunched his face up in confusion. "Whaddya mean?" _

"_See, Tai, your brother was something they call a stillborn." _

_Tai blinked at his father. "Well . . . what does that mean?" _

_Tai's father closed his eyes and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "You're brother . . . he was, well he . . . his umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck when he was being born." _

_The little boy shook his head in bewilderment, "I still don't get - "_

"_You're little brother died when Mommy was having him," Mr. Kamiya stated bluntly. _

_Tai stepped back from his father as his eyes filled with tears. "This isn't f-funny, Daddy. Where is he?" _

_Mr. Kamiya's shoulder shook and he clenched his fist before it relaxed. "I'm so sorry, Tai. I have to go back with your mommy now, but I'll come get you in a few minutes." _

_Tai nodded bravely as his father turned to see his mother. Once his dad's back was out of sight, Tai collapsed into tears with sobs wracking his body. _

_He sat there for a few minutes before he sensed someone by him and opened his eyes blearily. He took in the blurred image of a small, blonde-haired boy and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Oh. Oh, Matt! Umm . . . sorry, but I can't play no more." _

_Matt nodded understandingly. "I'm sorry 'bout your brother." _

_Tai wiped his nose with his sleeve. "'Tis okay. I'm just sad." _

_Matt nodded, twisting his face up in thought. "You can share my little brother, if you want." _

_Tai looked up at him, "I don't think it really works that way." _

_Matt shrugged. "Well, I don't care. I have a wife, too. Her name's Mimi. She's cool." _

_Tai nodded. "She sounds cool! I guess I'll share your baby brother . . ."_

"_Good! Want to play a game?"_

"_No, not right now." _

_Matt nodded. "Okay." _

**XxEndFlashbackxX**

"Oh my god," Kari exclaimed with wide eyes. She stared at her brother incredulously. "You're s-serious?"

Tai narrowed her eyes, annoyed that he had to share that much and not his parents. "No, I'm kidding. What do you think?!"

Kari flinched back slightly. "Sorry Tai."

Tai's eyes softened and he shook his head. "Nah, don't be. It's my fault. That's just a . . . sore spot with me."

Kari nodded, taking his hand in her own. "I can see why! Why didn't Mom and Dad want to tell me?!"

"They wanted to protect you. You never really remembered anything. They had decided if you had ever asked, they would tell you the truth. But they really hoped you would just forget about it . . . and you did."

Kari looked horrified. "How could I? Oh, I'm so horrible!"

Tai rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Kar'. Blame yourself for something you can't even remember. You were five, Kari. It's no ones fault."

"Not even Mom and Dad's?"

Tai sighed. "No . . . not even them. I understand why they did it, even if I don't agree."

"Thanks for telling me this, Tai," Kari said softly.

Tai yawned. "No problem. It actually helped me, too."

Kari nodded at him understandingly.

"I think I'm just going to take a nap," Tai said, rolling to his side.

"That's a good idea. But, hey! Tai, that's my bed. Tai . . ." Kari stared at her brother fondly who was either ignoring her or already asleep.

"Oh fine. Sleep in my bed," Kari said as she got up and turned off the light.

"Good night, Tai," she whispered softly.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"So . . . what do you think?" Mimi asked Beth, as she walked out of the changing room in a little black dress.

Beth looked up from her cell phone and smiled dryly. "Yeah, yeah. It looks good. Now, can we please go? It's so hot in this store," Beth complained, fanning herself dramatically.

Mimi nodded slightly, but turned around so she could examine her other side in the mirror. "You sure? It seems a little plain to me," Mimi said.

Beth groaned. "No, it isn't. It looks good on you. Really brings out your figure or something."

Mimi laughed at her friend. "For some reason, I prefer your thoughtless commentary than my other friend's endless compliments. Maybe I should bring you along more enough . . ."

Beth's head snapped up and her mouth slacked. "No. No way. I am not shopping with you more than once a month. Ever. You have your mindless cronies for that," Beth added on, smiling innocently at Mimi.

Mimi rolled her eyes, but a smiled tugged at her lips. "They are not mindless, Beth. They're just . . . different."

"Cool, cool," Beth replied absently again. "Go get changed and then let's leave, seriously."

Mimi smiled and waved her hand. "I'm going, I'm going." She turned and went in the changing room. Her muffled voice broke Beth out of her stupor.

"Uh, what'd you say, Meems?"

Mimi's glaring eyes could just be made out above the dressing room. "I need my belt."

Beth glanced around the room until she saw a small, white belt. She sighed and grabbed it, before handing it to Mimi.

Mimi grabbed it gratefully before pushing Beth's head back with her free hand. "Thanks. Now go away, please. Changing here."

"Yeah, yeah," Beth said. A sudden, slow clapping sound filled the room. Beth whirled around with a glare already set on her features.

"Who the he," Beth began, but trialed off.

A fiery red-headed girl was leaning casually against the wall while clapping her hands.

Beth opened her mouth angrily, "Get out of here, Veronica! I know you want to see us change, but this isn't a very appropriate time, now is it?" Beth said, a cold smirk directed at the girl.

The girl's cool exterior faltered and she exploded. "Are you kidding me?! Everyone at school knows you're just a lesbian freak, Beth!"

Beth's eyes flashed angrily and she clenched her fist as if she was about to hit someone. Mimi suddenly came out of the dressing room, now dressed in her regular clothes, and looked calmly at Veronica.

"Would you excuse us, Veronica? We were just leaving," she added on, pulling impatiently on Beth's hand.

Veronica narrowed her eyes. "No, you're not," she said, blocking the entrance way. "I don't know what your problem is, Mimi. Why do you hang out with people like her?" She said snidely, looking at Beth distastefully.

"You little bi - oomph," Beth started, but Mimi clapped a hand over her friend's mouth. She turned to glare coolly at Veronica.

"Listen, V. I don't know what your problem is with me, but you have a lot of nerve insulting my friend. If you do it again, you _will_ be sorry."

Veronica rolled her eyes. "I'm so scared. A threat coming from the biggest attention whore in school." She put her finger to her chin. "Or, on second thought, just the biggest whore."

Mimi apparently forgot her plan of 'playing it cool' because she whirled around with a livid expression on her face. "What did you call me?!"

Veronica looked at Mimi condescendingly. "Are you stupid, too? I said: You. Are. A. Whore."

Mimi looked on the verge of tears, but she kept up her guard. "How would you know, Veronica?"

"You think he wouldn't talk, huh? Does Matt Ishida ring a bell?"

Mimi felt her tears gather at the bottom of her lids. "Shut up," she whispered.

Veronica smiled cruelly. "Oh. Matt still a sore spot with you, huh? He always was too good for you."

Beth finally intervened, pushing Mimi behind her slightly larger frame. "Shut up, Veronica. No one gives a crap what you or your little clones think. Mimi has class," Beth looked Veronica's revealing outfit up and down, "something you clearly lack."

Veronica began to look a little apprehensive. "Hey, don't talk to me like - !"

Beth continued on as if she didn't say anything, "So, I would suggest that you get out of here before something really bad happens."

The red-heads defense crumbling, she took one last stand at the fight. "Oh, like you could do anything - ouch!"

Beth rolled her eyes at her retort and casually pushed Veronica over. Mimi's eyes widened and she looked disbelieving at her friend and the red-head. "B-beth, what did you just . . . You're going to get in so much - !"

Beth glared down at Veronica before grabbing Mimi's hand. "Let's go, Meems. Have fun," she added cruelly at the red-head. Mimi dropped the black dress as Beth tugged her out and into a small, classical music store. Beth immediately collapsed against a CD rack with laughter shaking her body.

Mimi looked at her friend with a strange look in her eyes. "Are you crazy, Beth?! What's gotten into you?!"

Beth finally stopped laughing and she looked at Mimi (with only a hint of shame reaching her eyes). "Sorry. The opportunity was just too good to resist."

Mimi crossed her arms, though her lips were slowly turning into a smile. "Oh, like you wouldn't have done it anyway."

"Mimi?!" Beth gasped theatrically, placing a hand to her mouth, "Is that what you think of me?!"

Mimi's resolve finally crumbled and she joined her friend in her laughter. "W-we're going to get in so much trouble if anyone f-finds out," Mimi gasped, in between giggles.

Beth sobered up. "I doubt she'll tell. Kind of embarrassing, isn't it?"

Mimi laughed, nodding. "Yeah, it really is."

Beth puckered her lips. "So . . . can we go to the food court, now?"

Mimi laughed, pushing her lightly. "Fine, fine!"

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Matt sighed unhappily as he strummed his guitar, absently playing with the buttons on his amplifier.

"You've got a boy, you've got a girl," he began to sing, but broke off suddenly. He had originally written this song for Mimi, back in their Sophomore year. He glared at the sheet music angrily, before grabbing it roughly and tearing into pieces. Even though Matt knew it didn't matter (he had it memorized for years), it helped ease some of his frustrations.

Matt sighed to himself, "I am so friggen' messed up." If only he could turn back time. Go back to Sophomore year and do things _right_. '_Now I sound like some old geezer, thinking about the good old days,' _Matt thought wryly.

Matt grinned slightly, but his smile quickly faltered. He felt his jaw tighten._ 'Just say it,'_ he thought to himself. _'Maybe if I admit it to myself, I can admit it to them one day.'_

"I-I miss them," he admitted to the cold, empty room. Despite his melancholy mood, Matt managed a faint smile of relief. _'There. I said it.'_

He repositioned his guitar on his lap and strummed out a soft, depressing tune. _'If only that made a difference,' _he thought to himself sadly.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Davis slammed his foot into the black and white ball, sending it spiraling into the net. He gave a weak grin, before collapsing onto the grass.

"Jeez," he muttered weakly to himself. So maybe it wasn't such a good idea to push himself this hard, but he had been feeling awfully confused. _'What's wrong with me? Why do I care so much about what they do? It shouldn't matter,'_ he told himself as he watched the stars slowly come out.

He groaned aloud, half for his aching muscles and half for the drama that was suddenly filling his life. "Mom's going to be mad if I don't come home soon," he told himself, but made no effort to move.

_'I really need to talk to them, sometime. I probably could, too, if I wasn't such a chicken,'_ he thought bitterly to himself. He smiled slightly in the darkness. How ironic. Just few days ago, Tai had told him he was the bravest person he knew.

"He wouldn't say that now," Davis whispered into the dark. He was met with silence.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**

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Ugh. Ever time I get done rewriting a chapter . . . I hate it!

At least it's better than before. Please review! It takes a long time to write, but only a few seconds to review!


	7. we might as well be strangers

**WARNING: **Kind of major changes in this chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication:** Bandgeek99. For reviewing my stories far more than I deserve.

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** In this story, the character's Japanese names are their full names and their American names are their nicknames. For example, Hikari Kamiya is Kari's full name, but everyone just calls her Kari.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

_EvenAngelsFall02 has entered chatroom 'The plan'. _

_HopefulFury has entered chatroom 'The plan'. _

**EvenAngelsFall02:** Hiya TK. You ready for me to brief you on the plan!?

**HopefulFury: **Hey, Kars. Yeah, i guess. Why am doing this again?

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Umm, maybe because your loving girlfriend asked you too. :P

**HopefulFury: **Oh yeah, that. Anyway, what do I have to do?

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Be nice! We just have to try to be his friend until his other friends see what they're missing!

**HopefulFury: **. . . What if they never see?

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Then we're stuck with him. Just kidding! I know they will. _*smiles brightly* _

**HopefulFury: **I sure hope so.

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Don't be such a jerk, Takashi. You don't even know him! :[

**HopefulFury: **That's the point! I don't want to know him!

**EvenAngelsFall02: **. . . You know if you end up liking him, I'll never let you live this down, right?

**HopefulFury: **Yeah, I know. I know…BUT I WON'T LIKE HIM!

**EvenAngelsFall02: **What's your problem TK? You're usually so nice! What's wrong with him? _*crosses arms*_

**HopefulFury:** God, I don't know! I just have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach!

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Well, please work past it. I want the nice, sweet TK I know and love.

_SoccerStar99 has entered chatroom 'The plan'. _

**SoccerStar99: **Kari, mom says to get off the computer.

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Gosh, Tai! We live in the same house! Why don't you just come tell me YOURSELF?!

**SoccerStar99: **I'm talking to someone on IM right now, so I'd just thought I'd tell you (GOD!).

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Ohhh . . . is it Sora? _*wink wink*_ YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER!

**HopefulFury: **Who's Sora, Tai? _*nudge nudge*_

**SoccerStar99**: Oh, hey TK (I'm ignoring your question). KARI, SHUT UP!

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Hehehe. I was right. You two are SO CUTE TOGETHER.

_Lonewolf43 has entered chatroom 'The plan'. _

**Lonewolf43:** TK! I have to talk to you, now!

**EvenAngelsFall02:** Hi, Matt! How are you?

**Lonewolf43: **Kari?

**EvenAngelsFall02: **Yep! :D

**Lonewolf43: **Why are you talking to my brother?

**SoccerStar99: **_*sarcasm*_ Maybe 'cause they're dating. Just a guess, though. Could be wrong.

**Lonewolf43: **Tai?!

**SoccerStar99: **What's up _Ishida?_

**Lonewolf43: **I have to go. I'll call you later, TK. Bye.

_Lonewolf43 has signed off._

**SoccerStar99: **Still the same old bastard.

**HopefulFury: **Watch it, Tai!

**SoccerStar99: **Sorry. But it doesn't change anything. He's still a bastard. Bye.

_SoccerStar99 has signed off. _

**EvenAngelsFall02: **_*rolls eyes*_ Well, this is just great. I'm going to talk to Tai.

**HopefulFury: **Why? He's the one who's a jerk to my brother. What does it matter?

**EvenAngelsFall02**: Even if you can't tell, your brother really hurt him, Takeru. Good night.

_EvenAngelsFall02 has signed off._

**HopefulFury: **Oh crap. She called me Takeru. She only does that when she's mad . . .

_HopefulFury has signed off. _

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"What is _wrong_ with me?" Yolei exclaimed, throwing her pencil at the wall as she groaned in frustration. She had been attempting to do her homework for the last thirty minutes with no luck. She couldn't stop thinking about how messed up her life had become.

'_What if Ken gets hurt because of this? I'll never be able to forgive myself . . . What if Davis _is_ hurt? He was always so good at hiding his feelings when he was younger,'_ Yolei thought worriedly to herself.

She closed her eyes and sighed in frustration. When had her life become so complicated. "ARGH!" She screamed, hurling her open history book at the floor. She grabbed her pillow and screamed into it.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Yolei's eldest sister, Nanako, asked worriedly.

Meiko, Yolei's sister closest to her age, called out from the other room, "It's probably boy troubles!"

"I bet that's it. I wonder if someone broke up with her or rejected her or something. If it's that Motomiya kid, I'll kill him," Yuu, her brother, said threateningly while he formed a fist with his right hand.

Meiko rolled her eyes at her brother and spoke between the apple that she was carrying in her teeth. "Protective, aren't we? Someone will just have to go in there."

"I vote you!" Nanako exclaimed quickly and thumped her brother's head.

"Me too! Jeez, you didn't have to hit so hard. That's going to leave a mark," Yuu whined, directing his last comment towards Nanako as he pinched her on the arm.

Meiko rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll go. I'm the favorite sibling, anyway," she said haughtily before blowing a kiss and skipping into her youngest sister's room.

"Hey, Miya!" Meiko greeted as she hopped onto her sister's bed. She looked with amused eyes around her sister's disorderly room.

"Hey, Miya, what'd the room ever do to you?"

Yolei shot a glare at her sister and groaned. "Why are you making fun of me? This is _so_ not funny."

Meiko grinned innocently at her little sister.

"Actually, it is quite amusing. The other two think you got dumped, but I think someone likes you," Meiko exclaimed in a sing song voice. "You were all flustered when you got home. It was so obvious," Meiko added on when she saw the incredulous look her sister was giving her.

Meiko swung her feet from side to side, letting the air rush between her toes.

Yolei was still staring at her with a lax expression. "How did you know that? I always knew you were freaky physic," Yolei said as she slapped her sister lightly on the arm.

Meiko grinned brightly at her younger sister. "I'll take that as a compliment," she said while Yolei rolled her eyes. "Anyway, who likes you? Is he hot? How old is he?! Give me some answers!" Meiko demanded as she grabbed Yolei by the shoulders and started shaking her.

Yolei narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Let go of me or I'm liable to hurt you," she threatened. Meiko giggled uncomfortably, but reluctantly let go of her grip on her sister and let her hands fall limply to her side.

"As I was saying, _who_ exactly - ?"

"Ken," Yolei interrupted, "You know, one of my best friends, boy genius, has great hair . . . yeah, that one."

Meiko's eyes widened and she clapped her hands together excitedly. "You are so lucky, Miya! You get to be with the, like, hottest, smartest, guy in your grade! I'm so happy for you," Meiko gushed as she gave Yolei's shoulder a quick, congratulatory squeeze.

Yolei groaned and pushed her sister off. "Stop celebrating, Meiko! He likes me . . . that's the whole problem. I accidentally told him I liked him . . . but I don't think - no, I know - I don't."

Meiko looked at her sister with a confused expression on her face. "How can you _accidentally_ tell someone you like them?"

"I tell you my problem and _that's_ all you come up with?!"

Meiko grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sorry."

"That's not even the half of it," Yolei admitted.

Meiko looked at her with a bewildered expression covering her normal happy features. "You're serious? What else is wrong? Gees, you're love life is screwed _up_, Miya!"

Yolei frowned. "I'm pretty sure that I have feelings for someone else . . ."

Meiko gasped, "Who?!"

"Davis . . ." Yolei admitted, whispering into her hands.

"Oh wow. Yolei," Meiko began timidly, "are you sure you're feelings for Davis are strong? I'm just asking because if their not . . . well then, you really shouldn't complicate the situation further."

Yolei sighed deeply, rubbing circles over her eyes with her hands. "I don't know! I just know that when I'm with him . . . I'm happy. Content, even. It's not like my normal crushes. Which consist mainly of 'Wow, you're hot! Let's make out!'. It's more like, 'When I'm with you I get these weird feelings in my stomach and my heart starts to flutter and my palms start sweating . . . and I love it.'"

Meiko bit her lip. "Well then, I guess you _will_ have to complicate things."

" . . . Why?"

Meiko's normally bubbly features turned serious. "'Cause, Miya . . . this isn't the type of crush that will just go away. This is the type of crush that leads to love. And I for one, am not having my baby sister throw away could-be-love for something as stupid as drama!"

"But Meiko! I don't want to hurt Ken!"

Meiko crossed her arms. "Someone's going to get hurt here, Miya! It's unavoidable! I'm just hope it won't be you," Meiko added on softly.

"Too late," Yolei sniffed.

Meiko bit her lip and put her arm around her sister. "I'm sorry, Yolei. It will work out eventually."

Yolei let herself regress back to childhood - a time where she needed her big siblings more than anyone. "Promise?"

Meiko smiled kindly. "Yeah . . . I promise."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**(The next day at school) **

"Class, start on your project! I have to sub in the art room," she sighed deeply as many students laughed (it was common knowledge art wasn't her forte). She glared them down slightly, but the smile tugging at the corner of her lips contradicted her hard look. "I know, I know. Ridiculous, isn't it? Either way," she continued, "I need you guys to be good until your sub gets here."

A young, smart blonde raised her hand.

Miss Bell sighed softly, but smiled kindly at the blonde. "Yes, Nicole?"

Nicole crossed her arms importantly. "I think this is going against procedure, Miss Bell. No disrespect," she added thoughtfully, "but I always thought all rooms have to be intended to by a teacher."

Miss Bell sighed audibly now. "Yeah, that is procedure. However, we are very, very short and personally I'd rather have an unattended group of Seniors - who are almost adults - then a unattended group of Freshman loose, wouldn't you?"

Nicole debated, chewing on her lip thoughtfully, before nodding. "Yeah. Good thinking, Miss Bell."

"Yeah, thanks," Miss Bell said dismissively. She perked up and waved goodbye. "Without further ado . . . I bid you adieu!"

"Wait!" Nicole called.

Miss Bell clenched her eyes together exasperatedly before turning around with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Yes, Nicole?"

"I'll watch over them for you, okay?"

Miss Bell smiled tightly at the blonde. "Sure. That'd be great, Nicole. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Nicole yelled back, oblivious to her teacher's annoyance. Miss Bell finally left and Nicole turned on the class with an unexpected ferocity.

"You heard the lady," she bellowed. "Get in your groups!"

Kali, a bubbly girl who had gone to Mimi's elementary school, flittered across to Mimi. "Okay," she said importantly, "Emma, John, and I are going to start working on the research. Do you want to start on the graph with Matt?"

'_No,'_ Mimi thought internally. She smiled. "Sure, Kali."

"'Kay . . . cool." Kali turned to Matt and smiled seductively. "Unless you want to me to help you guys," she said with a wink.

"I'm okay right now, Kali," Matt replied. "Maybe later."

Kali shrugged at him and turned around to work with the two others. Mimi rolled her eyes at the girl's antics and bit her lip to prevent a profanity slipping through her lips.

Matt smirked at Mimi's obvious discomfort. "Jealous, Mimi? Don't worry. I'm free Saturday. What do you say?" Matt closed his eyes after the words left his mouth. _'Well, I'm getting off to a great start. I decide I'm going to try to be nicer to them and this is what happens. Gees,' _Matt thought dryly to himself.

"Shove off, Ishida," Mimi muttered weakly.

Matt's mouth flapped again, despite his decision to be nicer. "Yeah, that's not what you were saying a few years ago."

Mimi's eyes widened in shock, before flaming in anger. She turned to Matt shakily. "How dare you bring that up?" Mimi gasped. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you," she repeated loudly.

Matt tried to look nonchalant. "Whatever." Internally, however, was a different story. _'Oh god. Why did I have to say that? She really does hate me now. I'm such an idiot,' _he moaned to himself.

"Mimi, I'm sor - " Matt began to say.

Mimi glared at him. "Save it, Ishida. Let's just get this project done."

Matt could only nod. Mimi grabbed a pencil angrily, beginning to draw a rough sketch of the graph. She didn't look up to see what Matt was doing; at this point in time, she wouldn't have cared if he didn't do _anything_. Mimi bit her lip angrily. _'How could he say that? I knew he was jerk, but I didn't think he was . . . heartless. Didn't it mean anything to him?!'_

"Humph," Mimi said quietly to herself. '_And how could he tell that I was jealous? I wasn't that obvious, was I? The only other people who could tell . . .' _Mimi bit her lip tighter, playing uselessly with the skin. She had to stop that thought right there; there was no point in thinking about things that she couldn't do anything about.

She closed her eyes tightly, lost in her thoughts as she absently reached out to grab a pencil. She jumped slightly when she felt a warm, soft surface instead of the cool, smooth one she was expecting. She looked up, confused . . . only to be met with equally surprised cerulean eyes staring back at her. She retracted her hand quickly, as did Matt.

Matt looked down quickly. _'God, I hope Mimi didn't see me blush,'_ Matt thought to himself as he stared intently at his slightly shaking - _'no, not shaking,' _he reminded himself, _'just twitching.' _- hands.

He sneaked a quick glance at Mimi, but couldn't read her facial expression; her hair was completely covering her in his line of vision. _'I have to fix this,'_ he told himself. _'I have to try to fix things between Mimi . . . and my friends.'_ He nodded to himself, determined. It couldn't be that hard.

. . . Could it?

Mimi turned her back on Matt, quickly grabbing her purse and shuffling around until she found her compact mirror. She flipped it opened and checked her appearance quickly in the mirror. She cursed herself internally as she saw a light, pink blush flushing her cheeks. _'Why am I blushing?' _She thought to herself angrily. _'I shouldn't have any feelings for him . . . except distaste. After everything he did . . . how can I still respond to him like this?'_

"I know what I'm going to do," she whispered barely audibly to herself. She smiled in satisfaction. She wasn't going to let Matt Ishida hold her back anymore. Mimi Tachikawa was going to take back what she always wanted . . . screw the consequences.

Mimi smiled contently to herself.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"TK!" Kari yelled happily across the lunchroom. Her blonde boyfriend looked up briefly from his calculus homework (which he was trying to finish by next period) and smiled at her. Kari ran across the lunchroom, dodging various students and teachers, and hugged her boyfriend around the neck.

TK smiled to himself before turning around and returning Kari's hug. "And why are you so happy today?" He inquired with a mischievous twinkle playing in his eyes.

Kari smiled at his offhand joke and whacked him in the arm. "I know you know! Today's the day were going to meet Davis. I'm so excited! Do you think he'll like us? Do you think he'll like _me_? Hmm, my hair looks weird. Do you think he'll like my outfit?" Kari babbled.

TK growled jokingly at Kari. "Hey, you better not look too good. I don't want him getting any wrong ideas."

Kari laughed at her boyfriend and playfully ruffled his blonde hair. "Aww, how cute! TK is jealous!" Kari winked at him. "Don't worry, I'll always love you, _baby_," she teased.

TK grimaced at her. "You know I hate pet names."

Kari smiled brightly at her boyfriend. "Yep! That's why I do it!" Her smile dropped out of her face and a look of determination set across her features.

"Enough messing around; it's time to work! We need to go find Davis," Kari demanded, pulling TK up. TK sighed and fixed his hair, but willingly let himself get pulled by his girlfriend as she started searching the cafeteria.

Meanwhile, Yolei was always looking around the cafeteria. She had her eyes peeled for both her boyfriend (no matter how weird it was to say that) and Davis. If she found either one of them, she was going to pounce. She _needed_ to talk to Davis and Ken was her boyfriend.

"Eww," she grimaced delicately as she took another bite of the gross cafeteria food.

"Hey, Yolei," Ken greeted. He paused before shyly pressing his lip gently to Yolei's cheek. He pulled away nervously, but soon started laughing at Yolei's red face. He smiled gratefully.

Yolei smiled shakily even though her face was still flaming. "H-hey Ken," Yolei greeted, trying to sound nonchalant, but failing.

Ken smiled sweetly at her and took a seat next to her (still managing to avoid Davis's usual spot). He took a bit of his corn before shyly placing his hand on her leg. Yolei's eyes snapped open before falling shut again. _'It actually doesn't feel bad,'_ Yolei thought to herself.

'_This isn't fair to Ken,'_ Yolei reminded herself._ 'I can't have him get hurt my mistake. I won't let him,'_ she thought to determinedly.

She gently pushed his hand off and stood up. "I'm sorry," she apologized, "but I have to the bathroom." Yolei started walking from her seat, heading towards the girl's bathrooms.

"Yolei, wait. Look at Davis," Ken said, his eyes transfixed on a sight that he wouldn't have imagined in his wildest dreams.

Yolei turned around quickly. "Ken, what are you talking about . . ." Yolei's voice faded off and her eyes widened. In the middle of the cafeteria, Kari Kamiya was hugging Davis (who looked rather red and uncomfortable). Yolei watched numbly as Davis laughed stiffly before placing hesitant hands on Kari's back and hugging her back quickly.

"I never thought," Ken started, but didn't continue. It didn't matter; Yolei knew what he was going to say.

"Me neither," Yolei agreed, falling back into her seat next to Ken.

TK Takashi's scowl dropped the same second Kari's hands dropped off of Davis and he started smiling. Yolei watched as Davis seemingly cracked a joke, of which both laughed at. She saw him take a seat at the table they usually sat at (alone, Yolei observed) and the smiles that were playing at everyone's faces._ 'Davis looks so happy,'_ Yolei thought stiffly. _'Doesn't he miss us?!'_ She suddenly thought.

Yolei crossed her arms grumpily. For some reason, she was suddenly ticked off. At the world, at Davis, at their situation . . . but mostly at herself.

Tai, Sora, Izzy, Joe, and a few of their other friends sat at their regular table (the table they had laid claim on all the way back in Freshman year).

"I don't think I'm ever going to be able to ask a girl out!" Joe complained, flicking a piece of lint off his shirt.

Izzy nodded mechanically. "I wouldn't say that, Joe. In fact, it's probable that you will grow out of your shyness soon. After all, most people really show their true colors in college and we're headed there in only - "

Tai smiled dryly at his intellectual friend. "Spare us the lecture, Professor Izumi."

The red-head blushed slightly and Tai grinned, slinging an arm around his friend.

Izzy glared slightly at Tai. "I don't think it's very normal to insult someone and then try to act all nice to them, Tai."

Tai retracted his arm and put them up in the air in a 'who me?' gesture. "Hey, hey. I never insulted you. Actually, when you think about it, I complimented you. So there!" Tai added on childishly.

Izzy opened his mouth to retort, but closed it again and puzzled over Tai's logic. "I guess you're right," he finally managed.

"You know it," Tai responded easily. Izzy rolled his eyes at his friend and joined the other's on their conversation of the exams that were coming up in coming weeks.

"Hey, Sor'," Tai greeted, turning around so that he was facing his . . . Tai scrunched up his face. What exactly was she?

Sora smiled back at him, a light blush covering her cheeks as she remembered the kisses they shared yesterday. _'You're acting like a schoolgirl,' _Sora berated herself. _'Get a hold of yourself and talk!' _

"Hey," Sora said lamely, groaning at herself internally.

However, Tai didn't seem to notice because he just grinned at her. "So . . . how's life?"

Sora smiled. "It's good."

Tai smacked his lips uncomfortably. "Yep," he exclaimed, popping the 'p' at the end.

She smiled at him, "Tai, do you want to talk about what happened last night?"

The brunet smiled at her gratefully. "Yeah. I mean, you're important to me and I wouldn't want to loose you over something," Tai trailed off and resisted the urge to face palm. _'Just like me to run my mouth,' _he thought to himself.

Sora blushed lightly. "You're important to me, too," she admitted.

Tai smiled and leaned down carefully so that his lips were once again covering her own. Neither noticed the shocked expression on their tablemates faces (Tai had yet to tell Izzy and Joe what happened yesterday).

Joe opened his mouth to say something, but a new voice broke in.

"Ohh! Who's this?!"

Tai and Sora broke apart and Tai looked around the table confusedly.

"Who said," Tai started, but the words died on his lips. Standing to the right of him, in all of her feminine glory was . . .

"Mimi?!"

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**

* * *

**Ugh! _*rants about how she hates this chapter* _

Please review! I know it doesn't take a long time to read, but it did take a fair amount of time to write. It would mean so much to me!!


	8. i'm heading back in time

**WARNING: **None. =]

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication:** Everyone who is continuing to read this story up to this point. I don't know how you do it. I truly don't. But thanks. :'D

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** None.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"M-Mimi?" Tai stuttered as he stared at someone who he thought he would never talk to again.

Mimi smiled widely at Tai, "Mhhmm."

Tai scrunched his brows together and looked at Mimi apprehensively. "Why are you here?"

Mimi pretended to grab her chest. "Ohh, that hurt. Is it so wrong that I want to spend time with my _real_ friends?" She looked around the table, her heart clenching delightfully as she recognized the familiar faces. _'Hannah, Sarah, Nick, Greg, Izzy and Joe,'_ she thought, deliriously happy.

Tai still looked worried. "You're not kidding, right? 'Cause so help me, Mimi, if you're just messing with us . . ." Tai trailed off, but the threat was still evident in his tone of voice.

Mimi's smile faltered, but she kept her chin up. _'It's only normal for them to think that of me,'_ she reminded herself. _'I left them . . . not the other way around.' _

She leaned down and said, deadly seriously, "I swear, Tai, I am not playing with any of you. I've missed you guys so much." Her voice cracked on the last word and apparently that convinced Tai because he quickly jumped up.

"Meems!" He exclaimed excitedly and hugged Mimi tightly. Mimi laughed happily and hugged him back just as hard.

Joe and Izzy shared a bewildered look, but one that was also filled with a forgotten sense of longing. _'Could she really be . . . coming back?'_ Joe thought to himself, watching the scene unfold.

Sora stared at the scene with a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Granted, she didn't understand everything that was going on, but Tai was happy . . . and that made her happy. _'Even if he does have his arms around another girl,'_ her subconscious thought.

"God, Mimi," Tai started. "I never thought I would see you again. After last year, you just starting drifting after Matt . . ." Tai coughed uncomfortably, before continuing. "Well, you know. I thought I had lost two of my best friends," Tai bubbled on the edge of incoherency as he pulled Mimi down next to him.

Sora felt a little uncomfortable (_'I wonder if she was the girl Joe was talking about?'_), but smiled widely, happy that things were finally working out for him.

Mimi nodded solemnly at her bushy-haired friend. "Yeah . . . I know. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to push you guys away. I should have kept you close, but . . . it was just so hard. At any rate, I am so, _so_ sorry. I've missed you guys so much. Do you think . . . do you think you could ever forgive me?"

She looked around apprehensively at her old friends, bracing herself internally for rejection.

Tai laughed loudly and both she and Sora looked at him strangely. He saw their faces and laughed harder. "I'm . . . ahaha . . . sorry. But it's just . . . haha . . . so ridiculous!"

Mimi looked hurt and moved to get up. "Of course. I'm sorry for even trying. I'll see you guys later, all right?"

Tai eye's widened fearfully and he tugged her back down. "No, Mimi! I'm sorry I laughed. It's just . . . there's nothing to forgive!" Tai said heatedly.

Mimi's face slowly began to lighten and she laughed nervously, hitting Tai on the arm. "Gosh, Tai. You just about broke my heart."

He grinned at her, "Yeah. Sorry, 'bout that."

Izzy spoke out suddenly, his dark eyes shining with kindness. "Just for the record though, Mimi . . . we all forgave you a long, _long_ time ago."

Mimi bit her lip to prevent herself from either going on a mindless rant about friendship or bursting into tears.

"I still say you should have let me beat him up," Tai muttered to himself, crossing his arms.

Mimi laughed loudly, "That wouldn't have solved anything, Tai! Though, I have to admit, it would have been fun to watch!"

Izzy, Joe, Tai, and Mimi all started laughing and Sora, the only one who didn't know what they were talking about, just sat back in her chair with a baffled expression on her face.

"I'm just glad you decided to come back to the people who really care about you," Joe said softly with a sad smile plastered on his face.

Mimi nodded. "So am I. I did meet some great people, though," Mimi admitted. She glanced around the table and grinned at the pout on Tai's face.

She ruffled his hair and laughed, "Of course, no one could compare to you guys."

Tai narrowed his eyes at her while smoothing his hair back into it's usual state of disarray. "Hey! Hands off, Tachikawa. My hair is my baby."

"Your baby?" Sora said grinning, breaking into the conversation with an amused expression on her face.

Mimi nodded to her. "Yeah, he's obsessed with his hair. It's kind of scary, to be truthful. I only know one person who's worse . . . but never mind that." Mimi bit her lip and looked Sora up and down, making the red-head blush. "He didn't tell me he was going out with someone so pretty," Mimi finally said.

Tai grinned as everyone started laughing, but inside he was uncomfortable. _'Yeah . . . we've kissed, but does that really make it official?'_ he thought to himself worriedly.

'_I know who to ask,'_ he finally thought, smiling to himself. _'The most popular girl in school herself . . . Mimi Tachikawa.' _

"Umm, Mimi, I have to go get a spoon. Come with me, will you?" Tai asked as he stood up and grabbed Mimi's arm without waiting for an answer.

Izzy's eyebrows furrowed together. He pointed innocently to the plastic spoon lying in Tai's pudding. "Tai, I believe you have a perfectly good spoon right there."

Tai stopped suddenly as his back tensed, but he smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I know. But I don't like that one. It's defective," he whispered, hoping that if he acted funny people would let it go. It worked; the people at his table starting laughing and went back to their own conversations.

"Let's go, Mimi," Tai said impatiently, tugging at her long sleeved, purple shirt. He dragged her to the middle of the cafeteria where the condiments and plastic silverware were located.

Once they stopped walking, Mimi retracted her hand from Tai's grasp and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "So, Tai, what exactly do you need to talk about with me so badly? And why can't we discuss it in front of the others? Ohh, it must be juicy!" Mimi added on chattily.

Tai ran his fingers sheepishly through his large hair, "You knew?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Of course. I haven't been gone that long, have I?" Mimi teased, though there was a hint of real concern tucked in her words. _'I wonder if I'll get a silly answer or a serious one. You can never tell with Tai,'_ Mimi thought to herself.

Tai shook his head. "Nah. I should've known better." Tai's grin diminished slightly and he looked at her sadly. "What was it, though? Two years or something."

Mimi nodded. "Yeah . . . more or less. Now come on," Mimi added, eager to change the subject and get the topic on safer ground, "What do you want to talk about?"

"Oh . . . err, Sora, actually," he admitted. "I know you don't really know her, 'cause she's new here and all, but I know you would like her a lot if you did."

Mimi crossed her arms. "Somehow, I don't think you dragged me all the way over here to talk about Sora and _mine's_ relationship."

Tai blushed guiltily. "Yeah, you're right. Sora is . . . she's just amazing, really. She's everything I've ever wanted in a girl, but more. The thing is, I don't really know what we _are_ exactly."

Mimi held her hand up. "Slow down, kiddo. Alright, so I take it Sora was the pretty girl sitting next to you on the bench?" She waited for Tai to nod, before continuing. "Well, what exactly do you mean when you say 'what we are'?"

He sighed, somewhat uncomfortable with sharing such personal information (even if she was one of his best friends). "Well, we've kissed. Three times, I think. I don't know if that makes an 'us', though. I don't even know if there is an 'us'!"

"Do you want there to be an 'us'?" Mimi questioned softly to him.

"Yeah. No matter how corny this sounds, I really, _really_ do. I think I can really, you know, trust her with everything."

Mimi felt her eyes widen. "Oh my God, Tai. Are you sure? I don't want to sound pessimistic, but do you think you can really trust her? I mean, what if she turns out to be another Kali?" She slapped a hand to her mouth forcefully and gazed at Tai with pleading eyes.

"Oh, Tai. I'm so sorry. I should have never said anything. It slipped out, I swear!"

Tai smiled, though Mimi noted, it seemed slightly strained. "Nothing to apologize for, Meems. It's kind of sweet to have someone concerned about my well being."

Mimi nodded understandingly at him.

"Honestly though, I really am sure. I know I can trust Sora. I can't really explain it, but I _know_. I'm sure, Mimi. Positive, even."

She stared at him for a minute, before blinking and hugging him tightly. "I AM SO HAPPY FOR YOU, TAI!" She exclaimed excitedly. She broke off their hug and jumped up and down happily.

Tai closed his eyes in exasperation and pointed behind his happy friend. "Uhh, Mimi?"

Mimi turned around and her mouth turned into an 'o' when she saw the majority of the lunchroom staring at her. She smiled nervously.

"Umm . . . hi?"

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Matt absently stirred his food around his plate. Ever since he saw Mimi go over to their old table he felt as if he was going to be sick_. 'Pretty obvious why,'_ he chided himself internally. _'You're just jealous that everything's working out for them . . . and not you. But whose fault is that?'_

"Hey Mattie," a bubbly, high pitched voice rang in Matt's ears and he closed his eyes in annoyance.

He rubbed his nose, but smiled as he looked up at the blonde. "Hi Heather."

Heather grinned widely back at him as she took a seat next to him, either ignoring his obvious annoyance or oblivious to it. "You going to the party tonight? It's supposed to be awesome," the tan blonde girl gushed while running a finger up Matt's forearm.

Matt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm sorry Heather, but please remove your finger." He glared at her sharply until she awkwardly pulled it away while giggling nervously. "And no, I'm not going to the party. I'm doing something with my brother."

"Ohh," Heather breathed in disappointment. She perked up. "Well, that's okay! You can just do something some other day."

"Yeah," Matt replied absentmindedly as he watched Mimi and Tai slowly make their way back to their table. They were laughing and talking and Matt couldn't help the spark of jealously that was slowly making his way through his body.

"Why are you smiling, Matt?" Heather questioned, following Matt's gaze. She laughed loudly as she saw who Matt was looking at.

"What?" Matt snapped harshly.

Heather smiled at him, "Are you thinking about what happened a few years ago? That was so funny! I never thought he would actually _say_ it. And it was all thanks to you!" She added on, as if he should swell with pride at the thought.

"Shut up!" Matt snapped at Heather as his face started to turn red from rage.

He spoke calmly, though the ice lacing his words were enough to make Heather scoot away from him slightly.

"It wasn't funny. Not at all. That was the cruelest, sickest thing you and your friends - if you can call them that - ever did."

Heather smiled at him, albeit shakily. "Ohh, come on, Matt! You were in on it, too! Who needs them anyway?"

Matt's blue eyes narrowed in rage, but his voice kept the same cold, calm tone to it. "I do. You ruined my life."

She nodded her head sympathetically, reaching her hand out so that she was stroking his calf. His lips narrowed and he grabbed her hand, throwing it off of him.

"Just leave me alone," he finally whispered, leaving angrily for the bathroom.

The whole cafeteria was watching the scene with a kind of sick interest and the attention didn't divert until TK ran after his brother. Slowly, the conversation starting slinking back at the tables thought most people were talking about what just happened. After a few minutes, a upset looking TK slunk back to his table.

"He's finally getting what he deserves," Mimi started, though she couldn't stop the queasy feeling that was slowing creeping up in her stomach.

Almost everyone nodded, but Tai looked at the boy's bathroom with clouded eyes. "D-do you think he's alright?" He finally asked timidly.

"Why would anyone here - especially _you _- care?" Izzy asked calmly, genuinely interested in his bushy-haired friend's answer.

Tai pursed his lips together. "He just seems so . . . upset."

Joe shrugged, growing uncomfortable of where the conversation was going. "Oh well. What can we do about it anyway?"

Tai frowned thoughtfully. "I think . . . I'm going to go talk to him." Tai stood up hesitantly and he quietly retraced Matt's steps. _'What am I doing? Why should I care what happens to Matt? It's like my brain is shutting down,'_ he thought miserably, though his steps never faltered.

"What?!" His tablemates exclaimed angrily. "Tai! Get back here, you idiot!" He never even looked back and no one took the initiative to actually go up and try to stop him.

Mimi slowly turned towards the others. "Tai's not serious, is he?"

Izzy shook his head mutely in the direction of his friend. "I don't know what's going on in his head, but I think he actually is."

Sora's eyebrows furrowed and she bit her lip. "I don't get it, you guys. What happened to make them hate each other so much?"

The blue-haired boy smiled slightly at Sora. "It's a long story, Sora. You _do_ deserve to know, though," Joe said.

"And she will. When Tai's ready to tell her," Izzy interjected soundly.

"Did Tai get hurt or something?" Sora pressed.

"More than he'll ever admit to," Mimi replied. "But we have to believe that he can take care of things himself. Tai might be a little slow, but he's definitely not an idiot - especially in matters such as this."

Mimi flipped her hair back as she smiled brightly. "So, we should probably start talking about other things. What have you guys been up to? I have been _so_ busy lately," Mimi started, ignoring the groans that both Izzy and Joe emitted.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Yolei Inoue watched Davis, Kari, and TK talk while bitterly stabbing at her green beans. _'I don't know why I'm getting so worked up.' _She bit her lip. _'Okay, so maybe I do. But, I should be happy for him, right? I mean, he's smiling! That's a good thing,'_ Yolei tried to reassure herself unsuccessfully. She grumbled and continued watching.

"Hey, Yolei, are you okay?" Ken asked sweetly as he took a seat next to her.

"I'm fine," Yolei snapped, unnecessarily harshly.

Ken flinched back slightly at her tone, but shrugged to himself. After all, it wasn't as if he wasn't upset seeing Davis act like nothing happened. Apparently, they just handled themselves in different ways.

The bluenette hesitantly took her hands in his and smiled at her reassuringly. "I know you're worried, Yolei," he started, "I am too. He's my best friend. Right now, though, he's happy there. So, for the time being, I guess we should try to be happy for him, too. Right?" Ken added on, not sure whether or not his mini speech made any sense.

Yolei nodded slightly as she pushed a lavender hair out of her face.

"Yeah, I guess."

Ken smiled softly at her. "Then we should give him space for awhile. It's obviously what he wants. In a few weeks, if he still won't talk to us, we'll . . ." Ken paused, ". . . we'll think of something," he finished lamely.

Yolei nodded, letting out a deep sigh. Why did Ken have to have all the answers when she felt like she was drowning in questions?

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Davis snorted loudly, "Oh please! Basketball and soccer aren't similar at _all_, dude!"

TK crossed his arms, appearing smug. "Well, let's just see," he stated cockily. "Both have one goal; to get the ball into the basket and/or goal."

"Yeah, like almost every other sport on planet earth," Davis piped in sarcastically.

TK continued, pointedly ignoring the burgundy-haired boy. "Both are team sports."

Kari smiled sweetly. "Again, like almost every other sport." She shared a smile with Davis.

The blonde glared at her, but continued. "And both are wildly popular," he finished.

Davis and Kari shared an amused look, before Davis blurted out: "Wow, man! You're points _suck_!"

Kari started giggling as Davis broke into laughter. TK tried to remain strong, but his defense started to waver and he started to laugh with them as well.

"I know," he gasped between laughs, "In the middle of my speech, I realized that even though they have some similar points, they're more different than similar. I had to roll with it, though."

After the three had contained their laughter, Davis spoke. "Man, this is great! With Ken - my best friend," he supplied helpfully, "I always lost the arguments. He's such a genius that I can never win! The only sport he knows anything about is soccer, anyway. He's amazing at soccer, but give him a basketball or a baseball and he'll just stare at you blankly." Davis snorted with laughter, recalling some of his attempts to help Ken with the other sports.

Kari giggled. "You don't have to worry about TK being super smart, Davis. He's mediocre, at best," she piped in.

"Hey! I think someone just shrunk my ego," TK replied, playfully poking his girlfriend in the nose.

Davis smiled at her encouragingly. "Good job. His ego is too big as it is."

TK narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't be talking, _Daisuke_," he teased.

The other boy huffed haughtily. "Ohh, shut up, _Takeru_."

'_I can't believe I even told them my real name. I hate my name! What's gotten into me?'_ Davis thought to himself.

TK's face reddened slightly, but he stuck out his hand as a sign of truce. "How 'bout we just call each other . . . I dunno . . . something else?"

"Like what?"

TK pursed his lips. "I could call you, ahh . . . 'Suke!"

Davis smiled. "Is that like a . . . nickname?"

The blonde boy raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, yeah."

"And you _gave_ it to me?"

TK looked at him strangely. "Well, no duh."

Kari smiled to herself. _'This is easier than I thought. I knew TK was overreacting.'_

"But don't friends do that?" Davis continued.

TK rolled his eyes playfully. "No duh. You're my friend, idiot. Gees, 'Suke. Is there anything going on up there?"

A grin overtook Davis's features. "Okay! I'll call you . . . 'Keru then!"

TK nodded. "'Keru," he repeated, testing the word on his tongue. "It's cool," he finally amended.

"Awesome!" Davis exclaimed, extending his hand for a high five. TK slapped his hand back and laughed.

Davis looked at his lunch distastefully. "I'll be right back, you guys. I just have to throw this away," he said, already heading towards the trashcan.

Kari smiled to herself. She really liked Davis, but it was nice to have some - even if it was only a little bit - of alone time with her boyfriend.

''_Keru! That's so cute,'_ Kari gushed internally.

"Hey, 'Keru, can you can over here?" Kari asked.

TK smiled underneath his shaggy blonde hair. "Sure." He slid over and put his arm around her. He bit his lip thoughtfully for a second, before:

"Hey, honey, would you mind not calling me that? It's just for some reason it feels like that's important to Davis. You were right, anyway. He's not bad."

Kari nodded, slightly hurt by his blatant refusal. She leaned into her boyfriend, but her thoughts drifted. _'I don't know why it hurt so much when he didn't want me calling him that. It's not like I don't understand; I do! It's just . . . will TK still spend as much time with me now that he has a guy friend he can hang out with?'_

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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* * *

**Please review. =]


	9. let the lines between us disappear

**WARNING: **None. =]

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **The Digital Typhoon. For being a great reviewer, part of the minority that is a guy writer on FF (More guys, people!), and for writing awesome fictions. :D

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** None.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Tai's head spun as his feet robotically carried him to the boy's bathroom. He paused briefly when he reached the entryway, but shook his head and thundered in. Tai closed his eyes in concentration and tried to listen for signs of the blonde.

His head snapped up when he heard heavy breathing coming from the inside of the back stall. The brunet felt his heart clenched in pain and he shook his head, trying to make the feeling go away._ 'I don't even know why I'm here,'_ he thought to himself bitterly. _'And why do I even care that Matt's upset? It's like Mimi said; he deserves to be upset.' _

No matter how Tai tried to convince himself, he still walked slowly towards the back stall. When he finally stopped just beside the stall that he knew Matt was in, he felt his hand's start to sweat from nerves. He hadn't spoken to the blonde in two years and now he was just going to barge in to _comfort_ him?

'_I'm out of my mind,'_ Tai thought to himself as he knocked lightly on the bathroom door.

"What do you want?" Came the snarled voice from within the stall. Tai smiled sadly at the door._ 'Matt always acts angry when he's trying to be tough.' _

Tai opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He shook his head determinedly and said, with a clear, steady (albeit soft) voice: "I just wanted to see if you wanted to talk . . ."

Inside the stall, cerulean eyes widened in recognition. _'What's going on? Why is Tai - of all people - here?!'_ Matt thought to himself. Matt closed his eyes in anticipation, but slowly let his pale hand unlock the door and push it slowly open. Matt kept his eyes glued to the tiled floor, not willing to look the brunet in the eyes.

Tai carefully kneeled down next to the blonde and paused for a few seconds. "A-are you alright?" Tai finally stammered out, not sure how to talk to a person who used to be his best friend.

Matt closed his eyes tighter at the concern in his ex-best friend's voice, but he willed his voice to stay icy. "I'm just super," Matt growled dimly, "What are you doing here, anyway? You haven't talked to me in two years, so why is today any different?"

"Matt . . . that wasn't my fault. I was mad at you; heck, I'm still mad at you. But that doesn't mean I want you to suffer." Tai bit his bottom lip uncomfortably as he played nervously with a loose thread on his jeans.

"R-really?" Matt's voice stuttered out, genuinely surprised. "I always thought you hated me . . . or wanted me to die. I deserve it," Matt whispered to himself. Tai's eyes widened as he saw a small drop of liquid hit the tile floor, coming from Matt's downcast head.

"Yeah," Tai nodded, "You kind of do." He paused. "That's beside the point. Why are you upset?" The brunet inquired calmly.

"You," Matt stated simply.

Tai blinked and leaned back on the stall door. "Me?"

Matt brought his hands up to his face, muffling his voice somewhat. "Yeah, you. That stupid _idiot_, Heather, was talking about it again."

Though Matt didn't specify the event, Tai knew automatically what he was talking about and his muscles stiffened.

"Why do the keep bringing it up, Tai?!" Matt exclaimed angrily.

Tai spoke harshly, "Because it was a big accomplishment. It was _your_ big accomplishment."

Matt shook his head quickly from side to side. "You don't understand, Tai! I didn't want it to happen! I wasn't a part of it!" Matt snapped his head up suddenly and the brunet flinched back slightly at the intensity portrayed in the blue eyes.

"But it did happen, Matt," Tai stated, softer than before. "Just . . . just stop making excuses about it. It was two years ago. I'm over it - mostly. What you did because of it . . . what you did to Mimi . . . that I will _never_ get over."

Tai glared back at Matt with the same intensity reflected in his deep, brown eyes.

Matt's face grew shamefaced. "I know it was wrong, Tai. You don't know . . . you have no _idea_ how many nights I've spent thinking about it. What I could have done . . . what I could have said differently that would have made a difference! I was mad, I was upset, and I was drunk. I didn't mean it! You know I would never intentionally hurt her!" Matt snapped.

"I don't care if you were sober or totally wasted! You hurt her and that's enough reason for me to turn around and never look back." Tai's voice dropped and his face grew stormy. "You hurt us, too. On purpose. What do you think you've been doing the past few years, huh?!" Tai growled, becoming angrier and angrier the more he said his feelings aloud.

Matt shouted, "It just happened, Tai! I meant to be nice . . ." Matt's voice grew softer, "I really did. I couldn't help it. Every time I saw one of you, every time I thought about it . . . all these hateful things spewed out of my mouth!"

"For the love of God, Matt, stop making excuses! I thought maybe you had become a better person over the years . . . that you'd finally be able to own up to your mistakes! I guess I was wrong," Tai snarled as he pushed himself gruffly off the tile and started walking towards the exit.

Matt jumped up as well and he grabbed Tai's wrist tightly, spinning him around so that he was looking at him. "Wait, don't go, Tai! I'm sorry. I've never said it before, but I'm _sorry_! I'm really, _really_ sorry, Tai. For all of it," Matt said, his voice filled with regret.

Tai's eyes widened and he stared at the blonde. "W-what did you say?" He finally managed.

Matt shrugged as he tried to look indifferent. "I said I was sorry," he mumbled.

"I never . . ." Tai stopped for a minute, before starting again. "I never thought I'd see the day that Yamato Ishida - _the_ Yamato Ishida - _apologized_."

Tai blinked twice and he looked as if his brain was still trying to compute everything that was happening.

"Are you okay, Tai? You look a little funny," Matt said unsurely.

Tai blinked again, but he slowly grinned at the blonde. "I'm fine. I'm better than fine! This changes everything! We can finally be friends again," Tai said excitedly.

"Just like that?" Matt asked incredulously.

Tai shook his head. "No, not 'just like that'. It's going to take some time for me to get completely over this. I can forgive you, but . . . I'll never forget what you did," Tai admitted.

Matt nodded vigorously. "I know you can't, Tai. I will make it up to you one day. Just give me some time . . ." Matt stopped, looking unsure of himself.

Tai smiled slightly at the blonde, before his face became serious again. "Listen Matt . . . is it okay if we keep this on the down low for awhile? I just think that some of the others will be slightly . . . less forgiving then I am. I don't want anything to blow up. Not yet," Tai added wryly.

The blonde nodded, though his eyes showed a hint of disappointment. "Yeah . . . you're probably right. That's fine. I want to be their friends too, but these things - especially something like this - will take time, I suppose."

Tai glanced at the doorway leading back to the cafeteria. "So," he said awkwardly, "I should probably . . . you know . . . be getting back now."

Matt nodded to Tai. "Yeah, you're right."

The brunet suddenly grinned and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "So Matt . . . manly, tough guy handshake or awkward hug?"

Matt smiled slightly as he saw the person he had known all those years ago shine out. He pretended to contemplate. "Heck . . . I haven't seen or spoken to you in years. How about we go for the awkward hug?" Matt raised his eyebrows teasingly.

Tai's grin widened and his dimples became visible. He cleared his throat in overly tough manner. "Yeah, I mean . . . if you want too."

He shrugged, looking at the light in the bathroom theatrically as Matt and he hugged briefly. Matt laughed as he pushed him off and dusted off his shoulders.

Tai turned to go around, but paused and turned around. "Well . . . see you around. Call me tonight, if you want. Unless you've forgotten my number," Tai added on.

Matt grinned. "Shut it, Kamiya." He whacked Tai on the arm as the brunet grinned childishly at him.

Tai turned around and made his way back to the table. Matt waited a few minutes and exited as well. Things might have started to work out between the two, but neither thought the school was ready for the shock that two previous enemies would walk out the bathroom door together. The school kids would have been talking about it for weeks.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Tai sat down at the table tiredly and he reached lazily for his soda, drinking greedily.

"What'd I miss?" Tai inquired with his mouth full of the sweet, bubbly pop.

Joe glanced at up at him, looking as if he wanted to ask what had happened with Matt, but instead replied causally: "Mimi asked Izzy out."

"Gruhhg," Tai choked. He started coughing and Sora's eyes widened as she hit him in the back several times before his breathing finally returned to normal.

"What?" The brunet asked dumbly.

Joe rolled his eyes as he picked up a piece of his lunch, "I _said_, Mimi asked Izzy out."

"Like on a . . . date?" Tai pressed.

"Yes," Mimi replied for Joe.

Tai turned to Mimi with a look of disbelief. "But . . . huh?"

She rolled her eyes and made a sour face at him. "Well, I asked Izzy out on a date and he accepted. Is it really _that_ hard to believe, Tai?"

"Yes!" Tai responded passionately. He looked between Mimi and Izzy rapidly. "But . . . you and . . . him. No. No! It's just so . . . not right and . . . no!"

Tai paused from his mini rant and finally muttered, "This must be a dream or something . . ."

Sora leaned over calmly and smacked him on the side of his arm.

"JESUS!" Tai yelled loudly, attracting the attention to their table. He ignored the curious looks that they (or truthfully he) was receiving and stared at Sora incredulously.

"Dude, what was that for?!"

Sora shrugged. "If you were in a dream you wouldn't have felt it."

Tai clutched his throbbing, red arm, but smiled slightly at the red-head. "Wouldn't a pinch be more traditional?" He finally asked.

Sora blushed slightly, but shrugged again. "Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

"It's fine," Tai laughed awkwardly, slightly embarrassed that he had made such a (in his opinion) fool of himself in front of Sora.

Tai turned his attention back to the situation at hand. "When are you two going out?" Tai demanded, eyeing them both suspiciously.

Mimi squealed, "Tonight! Anyone else want to come? We could make it a group date!" She clapped her hands happily at the thought.

"I can't," came Joe's monotone response, "I have to study. I'd rather not to you see make out . . . or grope each other or something, anyway."

Mimi and Izzy both blushed heavily, but Mimi shook out of it quickly and sent a pointed glance at Tai, before turning to Sora.

"What about you, Sora?" Mimi inquired, with a sly grin on her porcelain features.

Sora looked surprised by being asked, but quickly said: "Oh . . . uh, I don't know. I don't really have anyone to go with or anything." Sora glanced back at Tai, but Tai remained oblivious.

Mimi rolled her eyes and not so subtly whacked her friend in the back of his head.

Tai's head snapped up, "Uh yeah. I could take you. I mean, if you want to go with me . . ." Tai trailed off.

Sora smiled excitedly and nodded. "That'd be great," she said, trying to sound casual. "Pick me up at . . . ?"

She glanced at Mimi for a time. Mimi smiled at her, "Seven."

Sora turned to Tai and echoed, "Seven."

"Sure thing," Tai responded smoothly. He grinned goofily as the bell rang.

"I'll walk you to your class," he offered to Sora, extending his hand.

Sora blushed but nodded happily. "Sure," she said, taking his hand.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Those two make me sick."

Izzy nodded understandingly. "Tell me about it."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Yolei sighed heavily as she slowly trekked to her next class. She had Social Studies with Mr. Dawat. Normally, she looked forward to this class (not only because the teacher was cool, but also because it was the only room in the school that had windows that would actually open) but today she found herself dreading her sixth period.

'_A whole period . . . with Davis. And no Ken,' _Yolei thought to herself tiredly. _'But gees, look on the bright side,'_ she told herself sarcastically,_ 'you'll be able to watch Davis with his new best friend!' _

She shook her lavender tresses out of her eyes and walked through the door of her sixth period class with her head held high. She shifted her books to her left arm and took a seat next to the window.

Davis walked in and headed towards her. For a split second, Yolei actually found herself thinking he was going to sit with her. And, truthfully, for a split second, so did he.

"Hey! Davis!"

Davis stopped walking and turned towards the voice. He grinned as he recognized the blonde hair.

"'Suke, over here," TK beckoned.

"Yeah, yeah. Coming . . .'Keru," he added on as an afterthought. He grinned widely as he put his books down to the blonde.

Yolei stared back at them with a puzzled expression on her face. _'They gave each other nicknames? But . . . I never really gave him a nickname,'_ she found herself thinking.

Before Yolei could really mull over it, the door swung open. Mr. Dawat walked in and soon class (if you could call it that) had begun. He lectured for a little while as everyone took notes, but with about fifteen minutes left in the period, he stopped and smiled.

"So . . . this was fun," he said, ignoring the loud denials from his students, "but let's do something more interesting. You guys deserve it, anyway."

Mr. Dawat glared until everyone stopped talking excitedly. "Let's do some skits or something. Pick your groups," he yelled out tiredly, taking a seat in his desk chair.

'_Oh great. Now I have no one to go with,' _Yolei thought grumpily to herself. She eventually joined a group of girls who had gone to her elementary school and who she got along with. She noted, with some bitterness, that Davis, TK, Kevin, and Craig decided to work together.

They had a few minutes to flesh out a premise of their skit, before Mr. Dawat shushed them all.

"So," he called, "who wants to go first?"

"We do!" Davis volunteered, pulling his less than eager group with him as he stumbled towards the front of the room.

Davis coughed into his hand and his voice became deeper than usual. "We will be performing a love chronicle which will - "

" - point out how ridiculous chick-flicks really are," TK stated, grinning widely.

This caused most of the crowd to laugh (mainly the male part).

They four boys started their skit which contained (in their humble opinions, according to Craig) the four people you need for a "chick-flick" movie. The damsel in distress, the knight in shining armor, the person who either wants to kill the damsel in distress or the knight in shining armor, and the person who is in love with one or both of them.

"Well," Kevin explained, "in every chick-flick we've ever seen they've had some variation of these people."

"Granted, we haven't seen many," Craig added.

Davis dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Whatever. Let's do this!"

Their skit lasted all of the rest of the period and Yolei couldn't help but laugh along with the others at some parts. No matter how much she hated to admit it, those four were hilarious together.

Right after Craig (filling in the role of the person who wants to kill the damsel in distress) died, Davis (aka the damsel in distress) was being cradled by TK (otherwise known as the knight in shining armor).

Davis (who had, at some point, gotten stabbed in the chest) gasped out, "I'm so sorry, TK. I can't hold on anymore." He started to laugh, but quickly got back to being amusingly serious. "T-the pain," he purposefully stuttered, "It's just _too much_."

The blonde boy shook his head theatrically. "No, Davis! This can't be the end. I-I can't live without you!" He said loudly, eliciting a few laughs from the crowd.

"You'll have to. For me, TK. Live for me," he gasped out, before obtrusively keeling over and falling to the side with his tongue hanging out.

TK jumped up and grabbed his head stupidly. "NO!" He yelled dramatically. "This can't be the end! I never told you, but . . . I LOVE YOU."

TK started fake sobbing and it was convincing until both boys broke out into laughter. Davis jumped up, dusting fake dust off his shoulders.

"Gees," Davis complained, "Why'd I have to be the girl. Dude, I sounded like an idiot."

"Ha. Yeah, well you would make a really ugly girl. No offense," he tacked on for Mr. Dawat's sake.

"Shut up, Takashi! I'd be beautiful!"

"Just like your sister, right?" TK muttered sarcastically.

"_Dude_," Davis complained. "Too far. You're a dead man, Takashi!"

Davis lunged halfheartedly for the blonde, who darted away to the back of the class.

The ending bell rang a few seconds after Davis had caught up with TK and he pushed himself off the blonde disappointedly.

"Dude, I so would have kicked your butt."

"Sure," TK muttered, smiling widely.

Yolei gathered up her things slowly and watched with a clouded heart as Kari Kamiya walked over to greet them.

'_She doesn't even have next period with them, so why is she here?'_ Yolei thought distractedly.

"Come on, guys," Kari giggled, pulling them both by their wrists. The lavender-haired girl looked away hurriedly and smiled slightly as she saw Ken leaning against the door.

"You coming?" He inquired quietly.

'_No matter what I want, this is what I have,'_ Yolei told herself, _'And I have to deal with it. I'm going to get over Davis Motomiya if it kills me.' _

"Yeah," Yolei told him, smiling.

'_I just hope I made the right decision,'_ she told herself as she walked into the hallway.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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* * *

**Err . . . review? :D


	10. when it all falls apart

**WARNING: **None. =]

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **Samurai02008 - For reviewing and pushing me forward!

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note: **N/A

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**(Later that Night) **

"Hi," Matt started awkwardly, "is Tai there?"

Mrs. Kamiya gasped in shock from across the line. She smiled as she put a hand on her hip. "Matt Ishida, is that you? I can't believe what I'm hearing. It's so good to see that you two are fixing things! I'll go get him."

"Yeah," Matt agreed with embarrassment.

Mrs. Kamiya placed her hand over the phone and called out for Tai. Tai groaned, but got up lazily from the couch and shuffled towards his mom.

"What is it, Mom?" He inquired as he yawned loudly.

"The phone for you, Tai!" She said excitedly.

He raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior.

"It's Matt Ishida," she whispered happily to her son.

Tai's eyes widened in comprehension and he smiled at his mother. "_Ohh_."

He reached for the phone and she handed it to him with a wink and a quick squeeze of his shoulders.

"Hey Matt," Tai greeted, "Why are you calling?"

Matt rolled his eyes at his friend's short term memory. "At lunch, err, in the bathroom, you told me to call you . . . remember?"

"Oh. Right. _Right_."

"So . . ."

"So . . ." Tai echoed.

Matt shook his head and tried to make the conversation (or lack thereof) less awkward. "Well . . . I guess we can start easy; what are you doing tonight?"

Tai grinned into the phone, thankful that they had found something to talk about. "Ohh. I'm going to the movies." He paused and added on," I would invite you, but I'll spare you the pain."

Matt shuffled the phone to one ear and held it with his shoulder as he flipped the meat he was making for dinner. "What kind of pain?" Matt wanted to know.

"You know Izzy, right?" Tai paused and added on sheepishly, "Well, of course you do. Anyway, at lunch Mimi . . ."

"Mimi what?" Matt asked after a few seconds of silence.

The brunet's voice was muffled with confusion. He spoke slowly, "She, umm . . . well, she asked him out on a date. That's not the worst part, either! I have to go _with them_. I have to try to impress the girl I like while at the same time watch Mimi flirt and Izzy blush. It's going to be a nightmare!" Tai babbled.

Matt leaned back on his counter and he waited awhile before he stuttered a polite: "O-oh. Is that so?"

"Yeah! It's so weird, though. I mean it's Izzy . . . and Mimi. Together. Like _that_."

There was silence on the other end and Tai coughed uncomfortably into the phone. "Uhh, Matt," he started timidly, "are you sure you're . . . you know . . . completely over Mimi?"

Even though it made Tai uncomfortable asking such a direct question - especially after they had only just forgiven one another - he had to know. Matt's delayed responses . . . they were only after he mentioned his female friend. What _else_ could it be?

Matt choked slightly, trying to cover it up with a cough, but failing. "O-of course I am," he stuttered, "I mean, it's been what? Two years now? Who would still be hung up about a relationship that happened two years ago?" Matt laughed anxiously, trying to get the comfortable edge back to their conversation.

Tai paused briefly on the other line, a little surprised about how upset Matt's word made him. "Me," he finally muttered, almost ashamedly, into the phone.

The blonde's eyes widened and he cursed softly. He quickly attempted to explain, "Dude . . . you know I didn't mean it like that. I mean, I didn't include you . . . I was only talking about _me_ . . . God," Matt finally muttered, rubbing his temples.

"Okay, since I'm trying the whole being honest thing at the moment, let me just say; I didn't understand a word of that. I was just kidding anyway," Tai said in a forced offhand tone, "This just proves that you're definitely _not_ over Mimi, anyway, man."

Matt laughed stiffly into the phone. "It's not like it matters much, anyway, does it? There is no way Mimi would even _consider_ taking me back."

Tai nodded solemnly, even though Matt couldn't see the action. "You're right. Mimi would be an idiot to take you back. No offense, dude, but you really messed up."

Matt found himself growing angrier and angrier the more Tai spoke. Even though he told himself the same thing almost every day . . . it pissed him off hearing it from Tai, of all people.

"I know! I panicked, alright?! I panicked and I got drunk. I would have never done if I was sober. Alcohol can do crazy things to you, you know!"

"Matt! For the love of God! I'm not going to blame the alcohol because you drank it. I'm not going to blame that girl because you slept with her. And I'm no way am I going to blame Mimi because you hurt her! There's only one person to blame; when you figure out who it is, call me," Tai snapped, slamming the phone down harshly on the stand.

He turned around angrily, but flinched back slightly at his mother's livid face.

"Mom . . . ?" Tai questioned timidly.

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Taichi Kamiya! You just got Matt back and now you're going to through it away again! I don't _what_ is going on in that big head of yours!"

Tai grumbled, "I'm going to be his friend, Mom. We just have to . . . work some things out. I can't stand people who blame others. He knows that, too!"

Mrs. Kamiya looked less angry, but a concerned, upset tone was still evident in her voice. "Maybe, Taichi, if you just _apologized_ - "

Tai rolled his eyes, "Not likely." He turned his back on her and walked to his room, slamming the door shut a fraction harder than necessary.

"What has gotten into - oww," Mrs. Kamiya felt suddenly sick and she groaned as she made her way feebly towards the bathroom. _'Morning sickness, my butt,'_ she thought a little bitterly as she closed the bathroom door.

Tai leaned back on the cold oak, sighing, "What is it with Mom's and apologizing?"

"I don't know," came Kari's calm voice, though Tai still jumped in surprise, "I think they say that when they don't know what else to do. You know, 'show no weakness' and all that stuff."

He glared at her slightly for surprising him, but groaned and fell down into her bed. "Yeah, well . . ."

Kari restrained herself from berating her brother for lying on her bed, once again, and instead managed: "Don't you have a date to get ready for?"

She watched amusedly as her older brother blinked, shot up, and hit the wood above her bed.

She laughed as he grumbled and rubbed his head (where a large red mark had appeared).

"Yeah . . . I guess I do. Don't you have one too?"

Kari shook her head, a little sadly. "Nah. TK invited Davis to come with. I mean, it's great that we're all getting along so well - he's really nice, you know - but I'm starting to feel . . . insecure about the whole thing," Kari admitted.

Tai stopped looking for a shirt and looked at his little sister, with a concerned expression plastered on his face.

"You should probably talk to TK about this, you know. You have nothing to be worried about, anyway," Tai added with a glint in his eyes. "You have that guy wrapped around your little finger."

Kari smiled slightly, but her smile quickly faded. "I know I could ask. I don't want to, though! He should spend time with his friends; I don't want to be to overbearing. Davis and TK are getting along really well - which is what I always wanted! I don't know why I'm being so stupid . . ." Kari trailed off and hung her head sadly.

Tai rolled his eyes affectionately and he walked over to his sister, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, Kar'. He wants to spend time with you. I know him. He's probably just excited that he has a new friend. Give it a few days; it should wear off eventually. In a few days, he'll be glued to your hip." Tai paused and added on, "And I mean that completely in the non-suggestive way, of course."

He grinned brightly and ruffled her hair.

Kari smiled back up at him. "Thanks Tai. You always know what to say. I love you," Kari whispered, hugging her brother around the waist tightly.

"Love you too, Kar'. But if you want me to live another day, _stop squeezing so hard_," Tai gasped out theatrically.

Kari laughed and pulled away from their embrace.

Tai grinned at her. "I gotta get ready, alright? See you later."

Kari nodded in response and Tai went to search for a clean shirt. Fifteen minutes, he set out the house with a smile plastered on his face.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Yolei slammed her front door open, dropped her school things, and proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs.

"_AHHH_!"

Her older siblings (who were sprawled ungracefully over the coach and two chairs that furnished Yolei's living room) all gave a jump of surprise at the unexpected, loud noise.

Yuu stared at his sister for a few seconds. He turned around and whispered, "Are you sure she's not on crack or something? 'Cause this is a whole new level of crazy, even for her."

Nanako rolled her eyes, "Don't be an idiot," she replied, hitting her brother on the back of his head.

Meiko just smiled in that 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' way and pushed herself off the couch. She pretended to sigh. "It's okay, guys. _I'll_ talk to her."

She flashed a peace sign at her two siblings before opening the door to Yolei's room (of which Yolei had stormed in after she slammed the front door). She saw her sister sitting with her arms crossed on the computer chair. Meiko took a seat onto the bunkbed that she shared with Yolei.

"So . . . what's the problem now?" Meiko inquired.

"There is no problem. I'm fine. I'm going on a date with my boyfriend. My best friend is being a . . ." Yolei trailed off and pursed her lips. She glanced at her sister briefly, before continuing. "It doesn't even matter what he's being; I don't care, either way. I don't care at all. Not even a little bit. I'm fine," Yolei babbled so quickly that Meiko was pretty sure that she wasn't even answering her question anymore.

Meiko nodded slowly, taking all the information in. "So you're going on a date with Ken! That's so awesome!" She grinned happily, before frowning in concern. "But . . . what about Davis?"

Yolei let out a breath of air and she crossed her arms haughtily. "I _told_ you, I don't like him. I like Ken." Yolei paused, "Scratch that, I _love_ Ken. Why wouldn't I love Ken?! He's nice, smart, funny, cute, sweet, and - "

"Not Davis," Meiko said, answering Yolei's rhetorical question.

Yolei threw her hands up in the air. "I know! But why is that such a bad thing? He's such a great guy and I could totally see someone dating him . . . and I have him! But it's just . . . not working!" Yolei groaned self-loathingly and rubbed her temples.

Meiko reached her hand out compassionately and placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder, but her voice remained firm.

"Yolei . . . you're in a hard position. But the bottom line is . . . you can't keep dating him. Not when you don't love him. It's not fair to him and it's not fair to you. One or both of you are going to get hurt. And I'd hate to see that."

Yolei groaned and leaned in unconsciously to her sister's touch. "Can't I just make myself fall in love him?"

Meiko pursed her lips, "If it's forced . . . is it really love?" She retracted her hand and stood up. "I'm going to stay out of this. You can make your own mistakes."

Yolei watched her with exasperation. "But - !"

"But for now we're going to get you ready for your date!" Meiko squealed, grabbing Yolei. Yolei let out a small 'eep' of surprise, but willingly let her get pulled to the closet.

After many hours, Yolei had finally (as agreed on by all four Inoue children) found the perfect choice. The outfit was simple, to say the least, but it complimented her. It was originally Nanako's, but she agreed to let Yolei borrow it; a black, strapless dress which accented her thing frame and elongated her legs. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun which Meiko said made her look like she wasn't trying to hard. Paired with elegant high heels and long, dangly earrings, Yolei Inoue felt prettier than she had in a long time.

"Wow," Yolei breathed to herself, pushing a loose piece of violet hair out of her face. She turned from the mirror and posed dramatically.

"How do I look?" she asked.

Her two older sister's shared a look and started to jump up a down, shouting various compliments at their younger sister. Yuu simply looked from his book long enough to let out a long whistle and give her a thumbs up. Ken arrived their one time and for the first time in a long time, Yolei Inoue felt truly happy.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Kari smiled warmly as she ran into her boyfriend's arms. Davis was meeting up with them shortly, but Kari had purposefully arrived early to spend a little alone time with him. She giggled as TK spun her around and gently put her down on the ground. Kari smiled up at him and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Hey dude, what's taking so long?" Davis asked loudly as he shoved a large chip into this mouth. Kari jumped and when she saw Davis, she let out a large, exasperated sigh.

Davis had the grace to look embarrassed when he saw what he had been interrupting. "Oh crap. I'm sorry. I'll just leave," Davis said hurriedly, turning around to go to the kitchen so he could put the chips away. Kari found herself smiling gratefully at the burgundy-haired boy.

"Tha - " Kari started, but was cut off by TK.

"Hey, 'Suke, don't leave. It's not a problem. We'll meet you in the living room in a second," TK said smiling and turned his attention back at - a now slightly miffed - Kari.

Kari pursed her lips, "What's Davis doing here?" She asked in a slightly more accusatory tone that she was hoping for.

Her boyfriend shrugged his shoulders. "Oh . . . well, we just decided to hang out after school. You know, Kari, I really have to thank you - and Tai - for helping us meet in the first place. I mean, I never really had a close guy friend before." TK grinned widely, with both his mouth and his eyes, and Kari's anger diminished. This was obviously making TK happy; therefore, Kari would try her best to be happy too.

Kari tried her best to smile, "So TK . . . what are we going to do today?"

TK cocked his head to the side in thought. "Well, Davis actually suggested that we got to the party at Mike Sullivan's tonight. It sounds like fun, don't you think? And Davis as said, 'Maybe I can meet a girl and leave you two alone'. Then he winked and nudged me," TK said, laughing at the memory.

Kari smiled, "That sounds like fun, actually. A few of my friends wanted me to." She paused, "I hope Davis _does_ find someone, though. Even if he doesn't, I love being with you guys!"

TK smiled from ear to ear. "Yeah!" He lowered his voice, "Davis had this stupid idea that you didn't want him here; didn't like him or something. He told me he actually used to have a crush on you. But it's okay; he assured me that he would keep his hands to himself." He winked. "He just wants to be friends. Isn't that awesome?"

Kari smiled widely. "Yeah it is!" She put her finger to her mouth thoughtfully. "But I wonder why he would have a crush on me. What's so great about me?" She wondered out loud.

TK let out a gasp of theatrical indignation. "How could you say that?! Maybe because you're cute, funny, sexy, sweet, honest, smart, beautiful, loving, adorable, and did I mention _hot_?"

TK smiled slyly at Kari before he initiated a breathtaking kiss that made Kari weak in her knees.

They broke apart and TK smiled lovingly at Kari, before yelling, "Davis!"

Kari laughed slightly as she saw Davis stick out his head. "What 'Keru?"

"It's time to go!" Davis grinned and started jogging towards them.

"Hey Kar'! Hey TK!"

Kari smiled gratefully, "Hi Davis! It's good to see you!"

And, this time, she knew that she honestly meant it.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**(At The Party)**

Ken laughed loudly, but his voice blended in noiselessly with the loud, excessive noise that surrounded him. "This is great, isn't it?" He yelled to Yolei.

Yolei smiled widely at him. "Yeah, it is! I haven't had this much fun in a long time," she yelled back.

Just then, Kari, Davis, and TK walked through the doors. They each were clutching their stomachs (which were aching from laughter).

Davis paused in the doorway. Finally, he bellowed out, "Attention people! Davis has entered the building! Oh yeah! And the slightly less awesome Kari and 'Keru, too!"

Yolei watched as Kari and TK shook their heads affectionately before dragging Davis into another room. Yolei blinked and took a deep breath. _'This is a big party,' _she told herself, _'the chances of running into Davis were highly unlikely.'_

"This is awesome," Davis said loudly and took a small sip of beer from his bottle.

TK frowned, "You sure you should be drinking that, 'Suke?" TK narrowed his eyes in alarm.

Davis looked thoughtful, "Not really sure, actually. I've never tried it before. My . . . old," Davis cringed at this word, "friends weren't really into the whole party scene, you know. It's not that bad, though. Want some?" Davis asked, extending his half empty beer bottle to TK.

"I . . . guess I'll try. Just once." TK took a slow taste and then crunched up his face in disgust.

"I guess I'll just be the designated driver," TK said quietly as Davis took the bottle back to have another swig. Kari sighed deeply, but reluctantly fetched a bottle for herself. _'I don't like the taste very much, but I have to live every once in awhile, don't I?'_ She asked herself.

Soon enough, both Davis and Kari were tipsy.

"T-this . . . t-his is s-so great. This stuff i-is so g-good," Davis said, hiccupping slightly.

Kari laughed airily. "You're right. Normally I don't really like this stuff, but it is so good," Kari slurred, leaning on TK for support.

TK sighed exasperatedly and gently pushed Kari off of him. He shot an annoyed glance at the two. "I'll be right back, you guys. I have to pee," TK said curtly, making his way through the crowd. He left Kari and Davis to laugh at the word 'pee'.

Davis leaned against a wall for support, "Y-you guys are g-great. I was a l-little scared y-you didn't l-like me. I mean, why would _you_ h-hang out with _me_?"

Kari laughed and steadied herself. "Well, I like you. I'm actually glad my brother asked us to hang out with you. You might be a bit annoying, but you're pretty good guy," Kari garbled.

"W-what?" Davis stuttered, suddenly becoming more aware of his surroundings. It was as if his drunkenness was lessening (though he was pretty sure that he was only imagining that).

Kari continued on, her drunken state clouding her normal caring and helpful disposition. "Well . . . TK really didn't want to be friends with you at first, you know? But I convinced him." She hiccuped, "I'm not really sure why, though. I mean, you two are so annoying together. What are you dating?" She poked him hard in the chest. "Excuse moi, but _I'm_ his girlfriend . . . not you."

Davis shook his head like he didn't believe it, but his face slowly became angry.

"So the whole reason you guys are friends with me is because your brother _asked_ you too?" Davis demanded, his voice cracking slightly.

Kari replied, "Yep." She smiled at him widely, apparently finding no wrong behind her clueless words.

He looked at her with a horror stricken expression on his face. "God, I can't believe I was so stupid!" His voice lowered dangerously, "Tell your brother and your stupid boyfriend that I don't want their pity! Or yours!"

Davis slammed his hand on the wall beside her face and stumbled angrily into the crowd. Kari unfeelingly watched him as he maneuvered his way through the horde. TK walked back and looked around confusedly for a flash of burgundy-hair.

TK frowned as he turned towards his girlfriend. "Hey, babe, did you see were 'Suke went?"

Kari hiccuped, "He just ran right off. Right off. I told him about how we only started being friends with him 'cause of what of my brother and he got all grumpy! Ran right off," she slurred, smiling giddily up at her boyfriend. She reached up and shakily put her hand on his cheek.

"What do you mean?" TK asked hurriedly.

"I just told him that the only reasons we were friends with him was 'cause my brother asked us too!" Kari laughed and leaned up to kiss TK.

TK looked down at her with an appalled expression on his face and jerked away from her kiss. "What is wrong with you, Kari?! Why would you say something like that? He was my friend . . . I thought he was _yours_ too! He's never going to talk to us again! Why would you do something like that?!" TK glared angrily at her for a second before pulling away angrily and wading through the crowd.

"Where are you going, honey?" Kari asked confusedly.

TK hollered back sharply, "I'm going to find him and try to explain that you have no idea what you're talking about!"

Kari watched concernedly as her boyfriend's frame blended with the mass of other bodies.

Yolei opened the front door quietly, trying not to disturb (too much) the couple that was making out on it and stepped outside, letting the cool air relax her tense muscles. _'I've always hated big crowds,' _she thought to herself.

She sat down on the concrete step outside and listened to herself breathe.

"What?" She asked herself quietly when she heard a faint sniffing sound. She narrowed her eyes and listened closer, trying to ignore the loud music radiating from the house. _'Whoever's there . . . they're crying,'_ she thought worriedly. Yolei walked over to the bench that the sniffing was the loudest and frowned at the hunched figure.

"Excuse me? Are you alright?" Yolei asked worriedly, not moving fully in front of the person.

She watched interestedly as the person on the bench stiffened and started to furiously wipe their eyes. "What do you want?"

Yolei let out a gasp of surprise, "D-davis? Oh my God, Davis! Are you alright?"

Her eyes widened and she ran to him, apparently forgetting about the current circumstances between the two.

He glared at her, wiping his eyes more, "D-does it friggen' l-look like I'm 'alright', Yolei? O-of course, I'm a-alright. I always miss g-great parties and cry on b-benches!" Davis barked back sarcastically.

Yolei sat down on the bench and boldly pulled him so that his head was leaning on her shoulder. When she found no resistance, she rubbed soothing circles on his back. "Oh God, Davis, what happened?" Yolei asked, ignoring the tingling that was running through her body.

"N-nothing. I just found that I have no friends. You and Ken don't give a crap about me and TK and Kari just pitied me." Davis's voice cracked sharply and he pushed himself off Yolei, stumbling to get up.

Yolei was frantic. _'No, he can't leave! Not now. I have . . . I have to stop him!'_ She thought to herself.

"That's not true!" She bellowed, "You're my best friend. The truth is . . . I LOVE YOU!" Yolei gasped as her words registered and she slapped her hand to her mouth.

"Don't give me that, Yolei! It's just a lie. Everything is lie. I can't trust anyone!" He paused, laughing bitterly. "Who would care - let alone love - someone as stupid, annoying, and idiotic as Davis Motomiya, anyway? No one!" Davis yelled bitterly, heading towards The Parking Lot (Or the street where everyone parked their cars, fondly named 'The Parking Lot' their Sophomore year).

TK ran out, traveling to Davis as fast as his feet could carry him. "DAVIS!"

Davis glared harshly at him, his stumbling pace quickening. "Get away from me, Takashi! I don't need your pity! I don't _anybody_!" Davis spat out, running out hazardously into the street.

Yolei screamed loudly as she saw a swerving car heading towards her friend.

"DAVIS! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Yolei bellowed, running uselessly toward Davis.

The car swerved right and hit Davis. As if the night went silent, all Yolei could hear and see was Davis. Davis getting hit by the car. Davis flying back a few feet. Davis's head colliding with the pavement. The sickening crunch Davis's body made when it hit the street.

The car speed away into the night, not giving a second glance at the bleeding boy on the street.

"DAVIS!" TK and Yolei cried out simultaneously, each running as fast as they could towards the unmoving body.

"_I'm standing here at the spot of the horrible hit and run that happened earlier this evening. A seventeen year old Daisuke Motomiya was reportedly hit by an assumedly drunk driver when he was standing in the street during a party. There were only two eye-witnesses, both of who have been questioned by the police. Daisuke is currently being held at St. Matthews Hospital were he is said to be suffering from severe head trauma, and is reportedly in critical condition. His parent's, who were out of town on a retreat, are being notified at this time. And, on a lighter note, a legendary movie star is coming into town in order to prepare for her new role!" _

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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Oh my gosh, it's so hard to decide who to dedicate these chapters to! I love you all so much (I reread your reviews when I feel depressed and you guys always manage to make me smile!) and I wish I could give you all a chapter. Since that can't be done, I'm now randomly selecting reviewers. It doesn't matter if you reviewed once or every chapter; it means a lot to me. So thanks. =]

Oh yeah . . . review please!


	11. i can never wake from a bad dream

**WARNING: **None. =]

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication:** kyoshira7. For reviewing and making me smile even when I'm in my "emo" mood. :D

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** None.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

* * *

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

The brisk night air chilled Sora slightly as she stepped out of the door. Once outside, she was greeted by Mimi, Izzy, and Tai's smiling faces. Mimi was dressed to kill and smiling so widely, Sora was afraid her face would split in two. Izzy looked slightly unnerved, Sora observed, and as he stood staring dejectedly at the night sky, Sora could almost see the gears working in his head.

Her lips widened into a large grin as she saw Tai, who looked genuinely happy to see her. Sora felt heat raise to her cheeks as she took in Tai's appearance. _'I've been in a few relationships before, but none have ever been this serious. As stupid as it sounds . . . I can actually picture Tai and me years from now. I'm probably being stupid, but I really care about him . . .'_ Sora thought.

Sora bounded down her steps and flew into Tai's arms, ignoring the traces of self doubt that were lingering in her mind. She really didn't know if she should be this forward at this stage in their relationship, but she was often one to wear her heart on her sleeve, anyway. She smiled softly and sighed as he wrapped his arms tighter around her frame.

Izzy and Mimi watched with identical smiles gracing their faces before Izzy sighed, nudging Tai. "I really do think we should get going. The movie is bound to start soon and I don't really feel like waiting in a long line."

Tai nodded reluctantly and let go of Sora (but didn't stray far from her side).

Mimi put her hands on her hips, "Izzy! Do you know _anything_ about romance?! I can't believe you," Mimi wailed, hitting her forehead with her palm.

Izzy frowned, his brows furrowing. "I don't see why what I did was wrong, Mimi. We need to get to the theater soon and there's still a ways to walk."

"Why must be boys be so incompetent?! Why?" Mimi threw her head back dramatically.

Tai smirked, "Wow, Mimi, I didn't know you knew the word incompetent." He draped an arm around Sora.

Sora defended Mimi quickly, "Actually, Tai, I'm surprised _you_ know what it means."

Izzy smiled, playing into Sora's game. "Yeah, Tai. What exactly does it mean, anyway?"

"It means . . . well, the dictionary definition is . . . umm . . . YOUR FACE!" Tai yelled suddenly, crossing his arms and jutting his chin out indignantly.

Sora and Mimi laughed as Izzy smiled widely. Tai tried to hold out, but eventually gave in and started laughing with them. They started walking towards the movie theater.

Sora bit on her lower lip. "Do you guys know what the movie is about?"

The other girl smiled widely. "Yeah! I heard all about it from my friend Kat. It's a tragic love story that centers around . . ." Mimi trailed on with Sora eagerly listening, while Izzy and Tai both groaned.

"A chick flick, Iz. They're taking us to a chick flick. How can this night get any worse?" Tai grumbled lowly, not expecting an answer for his rhetorical question.

Izzy looked thoughtful, "You could figure out that your science project is due Monday."

Tai's eyes widened. "It's due M-Monday?" Tai stuttered, gripping his friend's shirt tightly.

His companion chuckled at his friend's antics. "Yes. We've known about it all month," Izzy said, slowly prying his friend's fingers off his maroon shirt.

The brunet looked appalled. "So?! I never listen to what the teacher says! You know that, Iz," Tai whined.

Sora interjected, "Maybe you should start."

Apparently, Mimi and Sora had topped talking a little while ago and started to listen to the exchange between their two dates.

Tai wailed, sticking out his bottom lip, "That's not fair! You're supposed to be on _my_ side, Sor'!"

Mimi smacked her friend's arm and smiled brightly. "Oh shush, Tai. We're almost there." She pointed towards the now visible theater and Tai grumbled as they made their way to the ticket booth.

"Two tickets for the . . . err . . . chick flick," Tai said uneasily. Luckily for Tai, a teenage boy was working that evening and he simply handed Tai the correct tickets without another word.

Izzy looked thoughtful, "Mimi, do you want me to pay? Or should we split it? Perhaps we should - oomph."

Tai clamped his hand over his friends mouth as he rolled his eyes. He grabbed Izzy's wallet and stuck the money out at the cashier.

"Same movie," he told him. The boy nodded and handed over two more tickets and Izzy's change.

"Problem solved," he said simply, before turning to Sora (who now had her hands on her hips).

Sora scolded Tai, "Tai, you really didn't need to pay for me. This _is_ the twenty-first century, after all."

Mimi laughed, "Don't worry, Sora. That won't be a problem. Enjoy it while you can; Tai almost never has money." Mimi grinned at Sora, unaware of the death glare that Tai was sending her.

"Good. Now I don't feel so guilty," Sora sighed, leaning on Tai. He smiled sheepishly and blushed.

"I've got the food covered, too," Tai boasted, pushing Izzy towards the counter.

Tai smiled at Izzy, "Cover it, dude."

Izzy glared darkly at Tai before reluctantly paying.

"What theater are we in?" Mimi asked as she glanced around the small movie theater. It was a family owned theater and relatively small. It only had six theaters, but the tickets were cheaper and the theater was in walking distance of almost everyone's house.

"I think five," Tai replied, squinting down at his ticket.

"I have to go the bathroom. I'll be right back," Sora said as she walked over to the women's restroom.

Mimi smiled, clapping her hands together. "I'll come with you!" She skipped over to Sora and took her hand, dragging her to the bathroom.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Mimi asked eagerly.

Sora's face contorted into a confused expression, "Nothing . . . I need to use the bathroom."

"Oh . . . well we'll just talk when you got out then." Mimi colored heavily and turned to examine herself in the mirror. Sora smiled uneasily at her before turning and walking into a stall. She still felt a little uneasy around the bubbly girl. _'Why did she leave Tai and the others, anyway? What's the deal with her and Matt? And what does Tai have to do with it?'_ Sora asked herself.

Sora finished her business and shook her head, trying to clear her head of the constant questions that seemed to rack her brain ever since she had moved to the little town.

"I think it's just so cute," Mimi sighed happily as Sora washed her hands.

The red-head tilted her head to look at the other girl. "What's cute?"

"You and Tai! It's just so romantic! I'm _so_ glad you two are dating!"

Mimi clapped her hands in delight before clearing her throat awkwardly and looking sheepish. "Ohh . . . umm, sorry. I tend to get overexcited."

"No, it's fine. I'd love to have your attitude. You and Tai are, like, the happiest people I've ever meet," Sora said, smiling, as she dried her hands.

"You so wouldn't have said that if you saw Tai two years ago! I mean, it's not like he acted different because he acted pretty normally . . . but it was just so sad. All his actions were so hollow and he seemed so . . . broken," Mimi informed Sora, her face growing serious.

"What happened?!" Sora wailed, "I don't understand! It's so frustrating! I want to help him, but what am I supposed to do if he won't tell me anything?" Sora said, groaning in frustration.

Mimi smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. I'll say one thing though; if you hurt him, I'm liable to kick your pretty little butt."

Sora laughed unsurely, not sure if Mimi was joking around or being serious.

"I hope I don't have too," Mimi said thoughtfully, "I really do like you."

'_Guess she's being serious then,' _Sora thought to herself.

"Umm yeah," she said awkwardly, "I don't even know if Tai likes me though." Sora glanced at the floor unsurely.

"What are you talking about?! Tai is head over heels for you! Have you seen the way he looks at you? Silly, he wouldn't have asked you to be his girlfriend if he didn't like you!" Mimi giggled slightly.

Sora looked unsure, "But he hasn't asked me to be his girlfriend . . ."

Mimi turned red with anger and stormed unexpectedly out of the door.

"Mimi, what are you doing? Mimi. Mimi! _Mimi!_" Sora ran after her as fast as she could, but Mimi was already storming up to Tai and whacking him in the head.

"Oww," Tai complained, "What is your problem Meems?" Tai glared angrily at Mimi as he rubbed the back of his had. _'Gees, she can hit hard when she's angry,' _Tai thought absently.

Mimi ignored his remarks and pulled him close to her face by the scruff of his collar. She whispered furiously into his ear, "Are you retarded? Why haven't you asked Sora to be your girlfriend, yet?! Are you an idiot?"

She growled lightly in his ear before turning around to face the two befuddled teenagers.

"Sora, Tai has something he wants to ask you," Mimi said loudly.

Tai glared at her. "Thanks a lot, Meems," he whispered. He shook his head and started again, louder. "Sora, I was . . . umm . . . I was wondering if. Well, if you wanted too - "

Tai broke off and started again. "I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend. I know it's fast, but I've never felt this way about anyone else - "

"Yes."

" - and I really think I might - wait, what?" Tai broke off and looked up at Sora with disbelief.

Sora smiled, "Yes, I'll be your girlfriend." Tai broke onto in a grin and hugged Sora tightly to his chest. Both Sora and Tai shot grateful glances towards Mimi.

"We should getting to the movie. We'll be late if we don't," Mimi said, intertwining Izzy's hand in her own. She started tugging him towards screen five.

"Who ever said that was a bad thing?" Izzy mumbled under his breath, disheartened about the upcoming event. Tai's phone ringing broke the silence of the relatively deserted theater.

Tai held up a finger, "One second." He listened to the person on the other line as Mimi, Izzy, and Sora shared looks. The person on the other line was speaking so loudly that they could hear the voice. Tai visibly paled and his hands shook slightly as he shakily snapped his phone shut.

"What's wrong, Tai?" Sora asked worriedly.

"I don't think we'll be getting to the movie," Tai said unsteadily.

"Yes!" Izzy pumped his fist into the air triumphantly before clearing his throat. Tai sent a slightly frantic glare his way and continued:

"Davis is in the hospital."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**(The Next Day)**

_Dark clouds hung ominously above her as icy rain drops hit her skin with a resounding 'plop!'. She shivered slightly, absently wondering why she was in such a strange spot in such strange clothes. She was in no way dressed for the current weather and was soaked to the bone. _

_She was standing at a place where she hadn't been since childhood. Her older brother, Tai, had always used to take her here. It was a steep cliff, hanging over the beautiful, yet dark ocean waves. She remembered him always telling her that even though it was beautiful, the cliff was dangerous and to never go near the edge. _

_She looked around quickly, confused. The cliff was the only solitary thing that she could remember. It was familiar, but everything around her was foreign. Usually there were picnic tables to her right and a large, spacious beach house to her self. She shivered slightly and sighed. _

_Suddenly, a loud crash rang loudly in her eyes, startling her so that she had fallen on the ground. A figure was standing in front of her, in all his bloody and bruised glory. _

"_W-who are you?" she asked timidly, slowly getting back to her feet. _

_The figure laughed bitterly, "You don't even remember me, Kari. I can't say I'm surprised, though. I'm Davis - Davis Motomiya." Davis smirked slightly and grew painstakingly closer to the edge. In a rush of emotions, as if a semi-truck had hit her, the previous nights memories came rushing back to her. _

"_Davis! Are you alright?"_

"_Why would you care?" He asked coldly, "I'm just a burden to you, after all." He smiled frigidly and moved closer to the edge. The backs of his sneakers were on the very edge, but his eyes never left Kari's. _

_Kari cried out with anguish coating her every word, "NO! You're not! God, you're not! I was drunk . . . and I was jealous! I was jealous of you! You have this . . . aura around you that makes everyone like you . . . and I was jealous!" Kari yelled out, walking slowly towards him. _

_Davis laughed bitterly, leaning over the edge so he could see the dark waves lap over the jagged rocks. "So you killed me for jealously?" _

"_You're not dead! Y-you can't b-be dead!" Kari broke down and started crying softly. _

_He nodded, "Yeah, I'm not dead. Yet." Davis stumbled and was on the verge of losing his balance and falling. _

"_NO!" Kari ran forward trying desperately to grab his hand. In the last second he moved his body so that instead of grabbing her, which was her original intention, she hit his shoulder and he went tumbling down into the darkness. _

"_DAVIS!" Kari screamed shrilly before collapsing into loud, wet sobs. _

_A strong, clear voice rang out, "You killed him . . . you're a murderer, Kari." _

_Kari shot up quickly, her sobs lessening slightly, as she looked around frantically for the source of the sudden voice. _

_Suddenly, her brother's deep, smooth voice spoke, replacing the unknown one, "I'm ashamed to call you my little sister. You were jealous, so you got rid of the competition. I gotta admit; that was a nice move." _

"_You killed him," TK's once comforting voice commented, "You didn't trust me and rather than blame me . . . you blamed him. I never thought you could be so cold, Kari. You killed him." _

"_NO!" Kari yelled out, grabbing her head as more and more voices rang out through the now pounding ran. _

_Then all in unison they chanted, "__**You**__ killed Davis. You __**killed**__ Davis. You killed __**Davis**__." _

Kari tossed in her bed, her purple sheet covers tangling in her legs. They stuck uncomfortably to her body, which was covered in a thick, cold sweat. She sighed heavily and when she opened her mouth to talk, a sudden scream came out.

She laid in bed screaming until Tai finally came in. Her brain and body weren't working together; her whole body felt out of synch.

"Shh Kar'. It's okay. You're alright. You're fine," Tai whispered over and over again, rubbing soothing circles on his sister's back. He awkwardly pulled her closer, stroking her hair with one hand.

"Tai, you won't believe it. I had this horrible dream! Davis . . . Davis, he was d-dead!" Kari spoke in a shallow, scratchy voice.

"Davis isn't dead, honey. He's alright, he's alright," Tai murmured comfortingly, clutching his sister tighter to his body.

Kari nodded, as if trying to convince herself, "Yeah . . . he's fine. I'm going to apologize at school. You better get ready, Tai," Kari added as an afterthought.

"Kari . . . we're not going to school today. I guess the principal figured too many people were going to skip anyway, so they could - " Tai broke off suddenly and an awkward silence filled the room.

"To what, Tai?" Kari prodded her older brother.

Tai didn't meet her eyes, "To visit Davis," he finally muttered.

Kari didn't think she'd heard him right, "But why?" Kari asked, still confused. She watched her brother with wide, innocent eyes.

He scratched his head and finally fumbled out, "Well . . . Davis isn't exactly _fine_, Kar'. I mean . . . he's not dead, at least," Tai finally muttered.

"You _lied_ to me?"

Tai winced at the venom in his sister's eyes, "No! I was just trying to . . . you know . . . comfort you and stuff."

She glared at him slightly, "Tell me what really happened, Tai. What is wrong with Davis?"

He sighed, as if he wasn't going to, but the glare his sister was enough to convince him. "Well, his left leg is fractured - "

Kari looked horror-stricken, "Oh my God! No! Tai . . . what am I going to do? Davis loves soccer! What if . . . what if he can't play anymore?" She looked at her brother's face and she felt her body tremble.

"That's not all, is it?" Kari finally whispered, letting the tears slowly drip down her cheeks.

Tai sighed, "No Kar', it's not. He has a lot of minor things - bad cuts, scratches, breaks, you know? But . . . Davis . . . well last night . . . he well . . . he slipped into a coma," Tai finally let slip out.

"W-what? Th-that isn't funny, Tai! Stop . . . stop joking around!" Kari started to cry harder, not wanting to believe Tai's words, but failing not too. She whacked her hand across her brother's chest repeatedly, albeit halfheartedly.

After a few minutes, Tai finally continued, "Th-that's . . . well, that's not the worst part, Kari." Tai shifted uncomfortably and Kari looked up at him, looking like a beaten puppy.

"Th-then what is?"

"The doctors think . . . well they think that _if_ Davis wakes up . . . he might be brain dead. There also worried about the _slim_ possibility that Davis might just end up being a vegetable pretty hard. He hit his head pretty hard Kar' and something happened. But, remember! That's the just the worst scenario. It'll probably be a lot better than that!"

Tai closed his eyes and sighed. Neither Kamiya children spoke for several minutes. Eventually, Kari's cry worsened and her breaths came out shallower and wetter.

"Th-this is all my fault," Kari finally hiccupped out.

Tai grabbed her chin and made her look at him, "No, Kar'. Don't say that; don't even think it. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen. Alcohol does strange things to people . . . I would know. You're not the person that spoke to Davis," Tai said vehemently.

Kari closed her eyes, "Y-you forgive me, Tai?"

"There's nothing to forgive, but if you want to me say it . . . then yes, I forgive you." Tai's voice softened and he smiled sadly at his sister. Kari unexpectedly threw her arms around her brother and hugged him, with Tai letting out only a squeak of surprise. Kari leaned over and whispered into his ear:

"Then why can't you forgive Matt?"

Tai choked back a gasp and looked at her with shocked eyes.

"Tai . . . you're one of the most forgiving people I know. Why can't you bring yourself to forgive him?"

Tai looked away, not meeting her eyes. "Because then he'll get close to me again. I don't want to get hurt again Kar' . . . I really don't. Keeping him farther away keeps the memories farther too," Tai whispered.

"Tai . . . bringing him closer won't make you forget Kali. Keeping him father won't make you forget Kali. Your wounds aren't gone, Tai. So stop saying they are," Kari spoke loudly.

He mumbled quietly, "I know, Kar'. But . . . maybe if I deny it long enough, I'll be able to believe it." He shook his head, "We're not talking about that, anyway. Do you want to go see Davis?" Tai asked.

Kari swallowed thickly, "I'd like that . . ."

Tai got to his feet, "Go get ready, Kar'. I'll go tell Mom and Dad."

He smiled weakly and left the room. Kari laid down and soon succumbed to another round of sobs.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Can you _please_ give me any more information?" Jun Motomiya pleaded with the nearby nurse.

The blonde nurse shook her head, "Sorry hun. No can do. That's information's confidential. Only a parent or guardian is permitted to that kind of info. Wish I could help ya, but I can't," she said between chomps of her large, fruity smelling gum. She gave Jun a quick wave before turning and bouncing down the hall.

Jun shrieked indignantly, "Learn to talk, you uneducated slob! And I am no one's 'hun' but Matt's!" The ditzy nurse evidently chose to ignore her because she didn't even miss a step.

Jun let out a puff of indignation and started back to her brother's room. She paused and decided to get a snack from the nearby vending machine. She walked past her brother's room, sending a concerned glance in the poorly lit room. _'This is just great,' _she thought desperately, _'The one weekend Mom and Dad decide to go on a camping trip . . . _this_ happens._ _Good idea to go camping where you get no cell reception,' _she thought bitterly.

Just as she put her money in, the same blonde kid from the previous night came rushing in.

He panted out, "You're Jun, right?"

It took Jun a minute that he was addressing her. She blinked and nodded.

"Yeah. Are you one of my brother's friends?" Jun asked, gripping the small bag of pretzels to her chest.

The blonde kid slumped over and looked on the verge of tears, ". . . No."

Jun blinked and awkwardly patted his back. She smiled at him uncertainly, "Then why are you here? I mean, no offense, but if you don't care about him . . ." Jun trailed off and backed away slightly from the sudden fiery look in the boy's eyes.

"I do care about him!" He responded fervently, "Why doesn't anyone believe me?" He groaned, loosing his anger and slumped forward.

Jun shrugged, eating a pretzel, "I dunno. What's your name, anyway, kid?"

"TK Takashi," he replied sadly.

Jun started choking and finally spit out a hunk of half chewed pretzel.

"Matt Ishida's brother?" She finally asked, unable to hide the glee in her voice.

TK looked anxiously at Davis's room, but finally muttered, "Yeah. So?"

"Oh. My. GOD. You are so cute! Can you get me an autograph? Or some piece of clothing?! PLEASE?! PLEASE?!" Jun fell down and latched herself onto TK's legs.

TK hurriedly unlatched her death grip, "Umm . . . right. So . . . I've gotta go . . . bye!" He took off at a sprint for Davis's room, narrowly missing kicking Jun in the head (who had stubbornly clung on to one of his legs).

He quickly slammed the door shut and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ohh," he moaned quietly before reluctantly opening his eyes.

"AHH!" TK yelled suddenly and the two figures who startled him, looked up at him with blank expressions on their faces.

"Yolei . . . ? Ken . . . ?" TK asked hesitantly. Yolei glared at him from across the room as she visually tightened her grip on Davis's hand (which she refused to let go). Ken glanced at Yolei, before sighing and walking towards the blonde.

Ken looked at TK curiously, "What are you doing here?"

TK dropped down into a nearby chair as he muttered, "I wanted to see 'Suke . . . "

The other boy raised an eyebrow, "'Suke?" He questioned with a strained smiled.

TK smiled fleetingly, "Umm . . . yeah. We made up nicknames for each other - kind of stupid really, but it was kind of a inside joke . . . and yeah. I should probably stop calling him that now, though, 'cause he hates me and he never wants to speak to me again," TK babbled.

Ken's calculating look turned icy. "You hurt him?" Ken questioned lowly.

"No! Well . . . yeah, I guess. Kari was the one who said it, though. She didn't mean it! I know she didn't! It was just the alcohol!" TK shook his head briefly, "It doesn't even matter how it happened; he hates me."

Ken seemed to contemplate this for a second before walking calmly over to TK and hitting him in the cheek with his fist.

TK shot up and pushed Ken away angrily, grabbing his damaged cheek. "What's your problem?!" TK asked vehemently.

"Sorry about that," Ken said, wincing at the blonde's red cheek, "I just needed to get it out of my system. I can get you ice or something, if you want."

TK stared strangely at the blunette, "So you punched me because . . .?"

"Because you hurt my best friend," Ken replied simply. "If you do it again . . . well, I'll be liable to kill you - though I probably won't." He sighed, "I hurt him too . . . so I guess we're in the same boat."

The blonde took a step forward, "Then I guess I should hit you, too!"

Ken glanced at Yolei, "It doesn't work like that. I hurt him unintentionally, anyway."

TK grabbed Ken angrily by his shirt collar, "What are you talking about?!" He demanded, "I didn't mean to hurt him either! He is - was . . . _whatever_ - one of my friends!"

"STOP IT!"

Ken and TK both stepped away from each other and turned their heads to find an angry lavender-haired girl glaring back at them.

"This isn't helping him! Davis is hurt and you two fighting won't help. You two are both his friends, so just . . . SHUT UP!" Yolei bit her lip and turned her head away from them.

"Say you're sorry," she finally muttered.

"Fine. Sorry Ken."

"Sorry TK."

Yolei nodded at them in a motherly way. "Good. Now we can focus on my important things . . . like Davis, for example. Just remember, _fighting doesn't solve anything_."

TK and Ken glanced at each other sheepishly before they both turned to face their comatose friend.

"I don't think I can go in Tai," a high, upset voice pleaded from outside the door. All three people in the room turned around and listened.

"Kari . . . it will make you feel better if you go and see him. I know you're sorry. Now go," Tai said, gently pushing his sister into the room and closing the door behind her. Kari's eyes widened as she observed the occupants of the room.

"What are you doing here?!" Yolei demanded, relinquishing her grip on Davis's hand so that she could walk towards the other girl.

Kari bit her lip, forcibly keeping tears down. "I j-just wanted to s-see him. I-I'm so sorry," she stuttered nervously.

Yolei inched closer to the girl, "Well that does a lot of good now, doesn't it?" Yolei asked sarcastically. "He's in a _coma_. He might _die_."

Kari's lip quivered, "I kn-know. I'm sorry. I d-didn't mean any of it! I'm so sorry Davis," Kari said to the unconscious boy, unable to fight the few tears that slide down her pale cheeks.

TK grimaced and reached his hand out to comfort her, but stopped and pulled it back reluctantly. _'She really had it coming,'_ he thought, _'But then . . . why does it hurt so much to see her in pain?' _

"Get out!" Yolei shouted, "You don't belong here! You're the reason he's here! You're the reason he's hurt." Her chin quivered, "I'll never forgive you!"

Yolei face crumpled and she let her tears fall freely down her cheeks.

"B-but I didn't mean to," Kari whispered, "I hate myself for it. I _hate_ myself. I just wanted to see him." She reached out gently and rubbed Davis's forearm.

The other girl snapped, "Don't touch him!" Yolei drew her hand back automatically and slapped Kari across the cheek.

Kari's eyes widened and her flow of tears worsened. She made no move to grab her injured cheek, however.

Yolei felt her mouth open, "_Ohh_. I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me," Yolei nearly yelled, feeling an immense swell of guilt consume her.

Kari took a shallow breath and shook her head, "N-no. You're right. I . . . I should leave." She turned around quickly and sprinted out the door.

TK and Ken both stared at Yolei in disbelief before Ken started to snicker.

Yolei put her hands on her hips shakily, "What's so funny, Ken?" She chided, "I just hit her! I don't see the humor in that!" Yolei glared angrily at the bluenette.

Ken bit his lip to keep from laughing again. "Fighting doesn't solve anything, eh?"

He looked at her face for a minute before bursting into nervous laughter. TK tried to remain stoic, but soon couldn't help a few chuckles slipping from his lips. Yolei stood shell shocked in front of them before starting to laugh with them.

'_I guess this is what Matt means when he says people laugh to hide their pain,_' TK thought, still giggling.

Suddenly, a very angry Tai Kamiya burst into the room.

"Which one of you hit her?" He asked coldly. "I'll kill you," he threatened, grabbing the nearest person by the scruff of the neck (who just so happened to be Ken).

"Who was it?" He asked, shaking Ken. "You? Stupid little twerp."

Tai looked like he was going to raise his fist, but a feeble voice broke him out of his rage.

"It was m-me," Yolei stuttered, "I'm so s-sorry. Please t-tell her that." The tears started to fall steadily down Yolei's cheeks and Tai's eyes softened.

He released Ken and smiled at him apologetically, "Sorry for overreacting." He glanced at Yolei, "I'll tell her."

He smiled sheepishly before his expression grew serious. "How's Davis doing?" He asked, his eyes plastered to the comatose boy.

"He's fine . . . well as good as can be expected, anyway," TK answered in a hollow voice.

Tai nodded, "Well that's good, I guess." He glanced towards the door. "I have to go get Kari. I hope you all know how bad she feels," he added on before walking after his sister.

Yolei walked back to Davis and sat down on the chair closet to him, resting her head on his chest.

Ken looked between Yolei and Davis before sighing quietly. He turned towards TK, "Umm . . . TK, could you leave for a minute?" Ken asked.

TK looked at them strangely before nodding.

" . . . Sure," he said, going back to the waiting room.

Yolei brought her head up. "Why'd you make him leave, Ken?" She questioned, looking at her boyfriend with a confused expression on her face.

Ken sighed and dropped down in the seat closest to Yolei. "We have to talk."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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**Sorry for the mistakes, but I have a major headache right now.

Please review! :D


	12. maybe someday we'll figure all this out

**WARNING: **None. =]

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **Khajmer. For your advice and reviews. I appreciate both more than you know!

**Reviewers:** N/A

**Author's Note:** None.

**Rating:** T

**Poll – **Located above my profile. Please take!

**

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****xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"This isn't working."

Yolei blinked at Ken's bluntness and she felt her jaw drop slightly. _'Is this really Ken speaking . . . ? I mean, if Ken is breaking up with me - and that's pretty much what it sounds like - isn't he the type of boy who, I dunno, like cries when doing so?' _Yolei thought to herself.

Yolei was confused. ". . . What?"

Ken sighed softly and ran his pale fingers through his blue hair. "_We_. As in: you, me, us. _We're_ not working.

"….what?"

Yolei started at Ken with a blank expression. She wasn't necessarily upset, but she was pretty shocked at the whole thing.

"Could you repeat the question, please?" Yolei asked politely, still slightly dazed.

Ken unconsciously bit his tongue. He only realized what he was doing when he felt the coppery taste of blood fill his mouth. _'Better than yelling at her,'_ he thought wryly.

"We. Are. Not. Working."

"Oh."

Yolei mentally cursed herself for her foolish voice. _'Why Is my voice coming out all squeaky? It's not like I'm upset or anything stupid like that . . . I mean, I wanted to break up with him! So why am I'm being so weird . . .?' _

Ken sighed. He knew Yolei didn't love him, so he really didn't understand why she was being so difficult. He was barely resisting the urge to run across the room and shake her shoulders.

"Yolei, it's not that I don't love you. I _do_. I really, _really_ do. But we just can't do this - "

"Why not?" Yolei responded instantly, her insides feeling more and more like mush with every passing second.

"Because this is what's right. I know the truth, Yolei. I know who you really like."

Ken mentally congratulated himself. To the point. That's what woman really wanted. The hard facts. At least that's what the people on TV said. Not that he was watching a show on how to talk to woman. Because he wasn't. His fingers just slipped when he was looking around. And stayed slipped. Of course.

Yolei laughed nervously, "That's funny, Ken! Because I like you." She smiled, "Yep! I like Ken, alright!" Yolei winked at Ken, but could already feel some of her resistance leave her.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"_No_, you don't." Ken sighed despite himself and winced mentally for what he was going to say next:

"You like Davis."

Yolei could feel her face flame, but she shook her head quickly. "What are you talking about? That's ridiculous! I mean, why, would I of all people, like someone like him?!"

Ken rolled his eyes, "Because you do; I don't know, Yolei! I don't think I'll every understand the female mind! But I know it's true!"

'_How does he know?!'_ Yolei thought to herself desperately, '_Am I that obvious?! Should I keep denying it or just go with it? I'm so confused!' _

Yolei bit her tongue and realized that she didn't have it in her to fight him any longer. The past few days had been draining enough and Yolei wasn't in the condition to deny such an obvious truth. The shock that Ken knew was finally beginning to wear off . . . and Yolei figured she was ready to listen to whatever he needed to say.

"Go on," she said softly, nodding at him.

"I think I've always known," Ken started quietly, "Even when I asked and you said it was me who you had a crush on. I knew you were lying . . . and I still went along with it. I guess I just needed to feel needed. With us, we've always had our places."

He smiled and his eyes got a far away sort of look, "Davis was the crazy leader, you were the outgoing optimist and I was the follower. Whenever Davis would suggest something utterly stupid, I would agree. But I could always count on you to hit him on the head and yell at him for being an idiot."

He smiled whimsically, "I guess I just got sick of being a pushover. I realized . . . well really grasped . . . that I couldn't depend on you forever." He cleared his throat, "So basically, you used me to forget about Davis and I used you to build up my self esteem."

"Don't say it like that," Yolei interjected with an angry edge to her words.

"Say it like what?" Ken asked, scrunching his face up in confusion and tilting his head to one side (managing to look very much like a puppy in the process).

"Like I don't love you," Yolei responded sternly, clutching her chair so hard that her knuckles turned white.

Ken laughed loudly and sat up straighter in his chair.

"Oh, I know you love me," he said easily, "I didn't mean to make it sound like you didn't."

He chuckled again and leaned back into his chair, "It's just a different type of love. You love your siblings differently than you love me. And you love me differently than you love Davis. I never doubted your love, Yolei. I guess we got confused the types of love."

Ken smiled encouragingly at the purple-haired girl across from him.

"I g-guess you're right."

Yolei mentally berated herself for her stutter. "Show no weakness!" as her older brother, Yuu, often reminded her. _'Of course,'_ Yolei thought sarcastically, _'he was talking about sports . . . God forbid he ever talked to me about guys!'_

Ken smiled warmly at her and continued, "I thought that we could be happy. I loved you and you loved me. It didn't matter that it wasn't romantic, right?"

Ken shook his head and closed his eyes. "I was wrong. You deserved to be with the person you love and I want - need - to be with someone who loves me for me. I don't want to be the person that you settle for, Yolei. I want to be with a person who really wants me - body and soul. This is for the best . . . it'll make us happy and I couldn't stand to put any more pressure on you."

Ken sighed at the end of his speech and gestured towards Davis. He opened his eyes and before he could blink, Yolei was running across the room and throwing herself into Ken's arms. He grimaced slightly as he felt the rapid rise and fall of her chest, indicating her sobs.

"Why is this break up so hard, Ken?" Yolei asked, though her voice was muffled because her head was tucked between his shoulder blade and his neck.

"I don't know . . ." Ken admitted. "Probably just because we're such good friends."

"Great friends," Yolei corrected softly. She lifted her head up from his shoulder, but kept a tight grip on his shirt. Her gaze shifted towards Davis. "H-he's going to be okay, right? He can make it through this . . . he's a fighter."

Yolei looked up at Ken for reassurance and Ken nodded.

"If anyone can do, it's him," Ken assured and hugged her tighter to his body.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

TK shuddered as the cold, unrelenting wind pushed harder across his body and pulled his jacket tighter around his shivering body. He was on his way to the Kamiya's apartment, but his mind was elsewhere. He had walked the path so many times; his feet unwillingly led him there.

'_I can't believe I was such a jerk. This was nobody's fault . . . Kari couldn't help what she said when she was drunk. I know what she said was anything but okay . . . but I'm sure she feels horrible about it.'_ TK sighed heavily and shut his eyes briefly. _'She's never going to forgive me, is she? I wouldn't blame her . . . I was just so angry and so scared . . . I needed someone to take my feelings out on. It shouldn't have been her,' _TK admitted to himself.

The blonde Junior nodded his head in assurance and looked up, blinking in surprise. In front of him was the door to the Kamiya apartment. He absently wondered how long he had been standing there like a creep, but dismissed it. He had more important things to do, after all. He raised his fist and knocked solidly against the cool oak.

Kari's older brother, Tai Kamiya, swung the door open brashly and without looking up from the paper in his hands greeted, "Hey Sora. I didn't know you were coming so soon."

When he got no reply, he looked up in confusion and blushed slightly when he saw that TK was standing in front of him. Tai frowned slightly, "Oh . . . hi TK. Sorry 'bout that. I thought you were someone else." The older boy paused for a minute, before motioning TK inside.

"Come in, come in. Sorry again. I don't know what's wrong with me today."

TK followed the bushy-haired boy into the warm, bright room and frowned to himself.

"Listen Tai," he started boldly, "I'm so sorry about what happened. I just came here - "

Tai put his finger on TK's rapidly moving mouth. He said sternly, "Don't give me excuses or reasons or any of that crap. I don't care. Just fix it." Tai looked pointedly at Kari's bedroom door before turning and leaving without saying another word to the blonde boy.

TK nodded numbly, ignoring the fact that the older teenager couldn't see him. He closed his eyes tightly for a second before releasing a shuddering breath and opening the door to Kari's room.

"Go away, Tai," came the sad, muffled response, "I said I didn't want to talk about it."

The blonde boy blinked and gazed sadly at his girlfriend. She had her face turned towards the wall and was wound tightly in various colored blankets. The room was dark; illuminated only by the ever changing screen saver from the computer.

"E-er," TK stuttered, "It isn't . . . well this isn't . . . umm Tai."

He mentally rolled his eyes at his weak greeting and ran his fingers nervously through his shaggy hair.

The only response TK got was a stifled 'eep' and a whispered, "Why are you here, TK?"

"I want to apologize," TK said firmly.

A heart wrenching half-sob, half-laugh came from underneath the blankets and Kari sat slowly up, though obviously avoiding eye contact with her boyfriend.

"Stop joking, TK I know it's my fault. You really didn't have to make the trip over here just to remind me."

A few of Kari's blankets slipped off and allowed TK to see Kari's unkempt state. Her hair was messy and not brushed; her eyes were rimmed with a deep red and she had small, purplish bruises underneath her eyes; Kari's clothes were crinkled pajamas.

TK looked at her sadly, "Gees Kar'. You . . . you really think I'd do that?" He hesitantly sat on the very edge of her bed.

"No . . . not really," Kari admitted. She finally looked TK in the eye and TK was a little surprised at the fire burning behind her eyes, "But you should!" She added on heatedly and grabbed the blankets, pulling them around her self-consciously.

"Why?"

Kari sat up straighter and spit out, "Because it's what I deserve. I did this to . . . him," Kari hesitated and TK got the distinct expression that saying Davis's name out loud was painful for her, "It's my fault."

He stared at Kari's face for a moment before a brash, slightly hysterical laugh erupted from his throat.

"I don't think that's funny, _Takeru_," Kari spoke strongly, though TK could still pick up the slight waver in her words.

TK waved his hand dismissively, "I'm s-sorry," he said between chuckles, "It's just so . . . stupid! I mean, how could you possibly think that was your fault Kari? 'Cause no one else does!" He smiled encouragingly at her and timidly intertwined their hands.

Kari snapped her hand from TK's, "You don't mean that! You know it's my fault . . . everyone knows it's my fault!"

TK rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Yes, Kari. Because _you_ drove that car. _You_ made Davis storm in the street. _You_ made him stand in that exact spot at that exact moment. _You_ made Yolei follow the noise. _You_ made them - we, actually - argue. I believe you."

TK shook his head, continuing, "If anyone should be blamed, it's _me_. Because, you know, I was the one who left you two alone. I was the one who left you two drink in the first place too! Better yet, it's Ryo's fault for throwing the party. And hey, this never would have happened if Davis's parents never had them. So really it's their fault, right?" TK smiled at her cockily.

Kari chewed on her bottom lip, "You're being . . . ridiculous." Even Kari couldn't ignore the fact that her words no longer held the same bitter edge as before.

"I'm just mirroring you," TK shot back and leaned over to hug Kari to his body. Kari stiffened visibly before eventually relaxing into the hug. The two sat there for a while not saying anything.

Kari's timid voice broke the silence, "D-do you think . . . well maybe that we could get some coffee or something?"

TK smiled so widely he was surprised his face didn't break into two. "I'd like that," he whispered.

Kari nodded and with a whispered "I'll go get ready" climbed out of her bed and walked to her walk-in closet. TK smiled and leaned back, before hesitating and walking towards the door to the hallway. He walked in the living room to see Tai happily munching at chips while watching a sports program.

"I fixed it, Tai," he announced loudly.

"I knew you would," Tai answered back, his eyes never leaving the TV. TK laughed loudly, as if a weight had been removed from his chest, and went back to wait for his girlfriend.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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I wanted to add this on to chapter eleven - and I'll probably do so - but it would mess up the reviewing for my next chapter and . . . too complicated. I'll add this in (maybe) after this is finished.

I hope you review despite the length (or lack thereof).


	13. we can always talk about it

**WARNING: **One swear word, Flangst (Haha, The Solar Being), NEW WRITING STYLE, rustiness.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **The Solar Being, for keeping me entertained with your great stories and our mindless chatter. You rock! :D

**Reviewers:** Thank you so much! 18 reviews for ONE chapter? Wow! Over 100 reviews? Double Wow! I love you guys.

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long. This chapter is longer than most (I plan for the future chapters to be about this length - or longer), but this will mean updates will take a VERY good amount of time.

**Rating:** T - for swearing, teenage angst, plain angst, horrible writing, etc.

**Poll - **Have some good idea for chapter titles? PM me if possible (please don't put in the review). I will, of course, credit you and dedicate a chapter in your honor. If not, that's okay too! I just wish I had more exciting chapter titles…

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**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**- Three Weeks Since Accident -**

Mimi sighed, leaning her head back against her over-sized pillow. Life had been hectic lately and it felt good to just let the gentle music playing course through her. It was a mix CD Izzy had made her and it turned out he had surprisingly good taste. It had been a little over two weeks since her first date with him. They had gone out numerous times after as well. There was something really comfortable about Izzy, which Mimi seemed to crave. Her lime green cell-phone vibrated slightly and a soft humming filled the room. Mimi sighed, but bent over to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Mimi, hey! I'm glad I caught you. I know school's been super busy lately, but I really think we need to work on our English project soon. Would tomorrow be too soon? I already asked Emma, John, and Matt. There all onboard. You?"

Mimi blinked, wondering how Kali got Matt's phone number. He constantly had to change it in order to keep the fangirl's at bay. Because it was switched so often, only people really close to him knew his current number. Mimi smiled bitterly. _'Maybe they tangled tongues or something.' _

"Umm . . . sure. Where are we going to meet?"

"We decided on John's house. You know where that is, right? I hope you don't feel like we weren't including you in our plans, but I could never reach you…"

"No, it's fine. I'll bring my stuff. I know where John's house is too. I went to party there Sophomore year."

Mimi heard Kali's bubbly laugh and smiled. It was hard not to like someone so lively and naïve.

"Great! We'll meet you there at noon! I mean . . . if that's alright with you."

Mimi pushed her hair back behind her ear and let out a puff of air.

"Nah. It's no problem. I'll see you then."

"Bye Mimi!"

"Bye Kali."

Mimi slipped her cell-phone closed and fell back onto her bed. She smiled faintly as she heard her favorite song come on. She closed her eyes, listening to the soothing music. She didn't know Izzy could be so sweet. She had really found out a lot about him lately. Mimi grinned as she thought of the various double-dates Izzy, Tai, Sora and herself had been on. Tai and Sora really were good for each other. Mimi yawned and yanked her fluffy cover up, wrapping it around her thin frame.

"Mimi! Honey! Supper's ready."

Mimi stifled a groan and crept out of her warm bed. She padded down the stairs and smiled when she saw her mother and father.

Her mother gave her a cheerful wave, but quickly went back to her cooking. Her father glanced up from his newspaper, his shoulder leaning against the hallway wall.

"Hey Daddy. How was work?"

She slid into him, her socks clashing with the smooth tile floor and he laughed as he kept her up.

"Woah. Watch it there. Work was fine. I got you something!"

Mimi squealed and threw her hands around her father's neck, kissing his check.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Her father laughed and handed her a small white box. "One of my employers had it 'specially made. I don't really know why, but he really did get you spot on! I think it just screams 'you!' to me, sweetheart."

Mimi laughed and tore open the lid excitedly. She gasped and looked at her father in amazement. "Daddy . . . it's perfect!"

It was simple in its entirety, but that only made it more beautiful. It was a silver necklace and hanging in the middle was a symbol. It was light green and shaped like a tear. There were also two more circles enclosed in the "tear" and a diamond shone out from the middle.

Mimi's dad smiled and ruffled her hair. He laughed when she glared at him and smoothed down her hair. "Do you know what it stands for?" She bit her lip, suppressing another smile.

His father nodded and shrugged his shoulders.

"The man who gave it to me said it was made in another country. I'm not really sure where. But, I'm pretty sure it translates to 'sincerity'. Once I heard that, I was sold. I said to him, 'That necklace was made for my little girl!'"

"Daddy! Do you still go around telling people I'm a 'little girl'?! I'm a Senior in High School!" Mimi looked appalled and inched away from her father.

"You'll always be my little girl - "

"Honey! Beth and her family are coming over for dinner! I'm making casserole. And for some reason Beth's mom insists on bringing something as well. Oh well, more for us!" Mimi's mother rang out clearly from the kitchen and Mimi and her father exchanged looks.

"Eww. I hope there's no whipped cream on this one." Mimi mouthed to her father.

"Me too. Me too." Mimi's father laughed and walked into the kitchen. Mimi sighed and crumpled on the coach in the next room. Her phone rang again and she flipped it open.

"Hey Beth."

" . . . How did you know it was me?"

Mimi rolled her eyes and smiled fondly.

"Because I'm physic. Duh! You almost always call on your way over here."

"Well . . . yeah. But that's just because my parents are so annoying!"

Mimi laughed and shook her head in agreement.

"Better than mine."

She heard Beth laugh and make a gagging noise.

"Eww. They're getting all mushy. But that reminds me! How's lover-boy?"

Beth sang out her last sentence and made kissing noises. Mimi blushed bright red and whispered furiously into her phone.

"Shut up! Your parents might hear! And Izzy is not lover-boy as you so fondly call him. He's just a friend."

Mimi could almost see Beth roll her eyes and shook her head when she heard Beth snicker.

"So you kiss all your friends? I'm appalled Mimi! I thought you weren't like that. Tsk tsk."

Mimi flushed deeper and whined into the phone.

"Will you shut your abnormally large mouth?! Izzy and I only kissed once! I'm never telling you anything again."

She heard the smirk in her friend's voice as she replied.

"Aww, honey. That's cute. You would explode if you didn't tell me."

Mimi laughed and tried to keep her voice mad.

"I could tell someone else!"

"Who?"

Insert Beth's loud snort here.

"Umm . . . SORA!"

The phone went silent for a minute and Mimi bit her lip. Maybe that was a bit mean. Sora and she were becoming really close and she had been spending less time with Beth…

"Yeah. Puh-leez. How can you talk about her and Tai _with_ her?"

Mimi smiled, glad her friend wasn't upset. Beth really did have a backbone.

"Good point. I have to go. My minutes are low. See ya!"

"Yeah. Later."

Mimi beamed and hung up her phone, turning her attention to the news. The news never really interested her, but it could hold her attention long enough until their guests arrived.

'_In other news, there was a building fire earlier this afternoon. No one was injured, but the house suffered heavy smoke damage. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. And now sports with Andy Rick!' _

The doorbell rang and Mimi hurriedly walked to the front door. She swung the heavy door open to see three familiar faces. Their noises and cheeks were all tinted red from the cold and Mimi quickly ushered them in.

"Come on, come on!"

They promptly removed their coats and the adults coasted to the kitchen. Beth dragged Mimi by the ear into her bedroom.

"So," Beth began.

"So," Mimi echoed, falling comfortably on her bed.

"How's life?" Beth grinned, and Mimi laughed.

"Good, you know. I mean everyone's pretty shaken up about what happened with Davis, though."

Beth bobbed her head up and down in agreement.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. We really haven't had anything bad happen to people we've known before. It's kind of surreal. I know bad things happened - I'm not an idiot. But it just kinda felt like we were invincible."

Mimi hugged her knees and sighed.

"Yeah. Taichi was the only one I ever knew about who had something happen to them this badly. I mean it didn't happen to him, but it really shook him up. His brother dying…it was horrible. I know he was a baby, but it still feels horrible."

Beth smiled faintly and leaned her cheek on the wall.

"That was the day you all met, right? You, Tai, and Matt."

"I knew . . . Matt before that. But that's when we all got really close, yeah."

Beth nodded slowly, but changed the subject.

"So . . . how's lover-boy?"

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"So it's five-twenty for both of us?"

Yolei Inoue narrowed her eyes at the cashier as Ken went to go find a table in the Hospital Cafeteria.

"Nope," the cashier popped her lips on the 'p' and smiled smugly at Yolei, "It's each. As in ten-forty for the both of you. Get it?"

Yolei grumbled something along the lines of _'I'll get you Ms. Works-at-a-cafeteria-lady'_, but shoved the crinkled money (with some change) at the cashier.

"Here ya go," the nameless cafeteria lady pushed the plates forward.

She smiled slyly and Yolei grimaced at her back.

"Stupid . . . cafeteria . . . people."

Yolei perked up when she saw Ken's thin hand waving her towards a side table. She slid the food down, falling dramatically into the chair. Ken raised an eyebrow at her as he took his pudding cup.

"Something wrong, Yolei?"

Yolei stuck her tongue at him and grabbed for her own pudding cup resentfully.

"I am so sick of hospital food. It has to be the worst thing ever invented. I bet Davis would agree!"

Ken flinched slightly, but smiled back at her.

"Yeah. But I'd bet he'd rather be eating this stuff than that white crap they're feeding down his mouth."

Yolei nodded repeatedly and blew her lavender hair out of her face.

"I feel so bad for him. He would kill us if he knew. I mean, I bet he'd even rather be eating Brussels sprouts, or something. And you know Davis has a fear of tiny cabbages!"

Ken snorted and flung a bit of his pudding at Yolei.

"Say that louder, why don't you? He would kill you if he heard you."

Yolei narrowed her eyes playfully and flung a bit of her vanilla pudding back at him. "Take that, genius-boy!"

"Says the girl who's in advanced placement for almost all her classes."

Ken smiled wryly, and Yolei crossed her arms, her face coloring slightly.

"Shuddup."

Ken grinned cockily, and continued eating his (bland) lunch. Yolei glanced at the clock, and started throwing food into her mouth.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Visiting hours for the public is closing soon!"

Ken continued at his pace, leisurely placing the bit of salad into his mouth.

"Why bother? You can just get Jun to sneak us in again. It's not that hard."

Yolei grimaced at him, and folded her arms stubbornly.

"For your information, I have a lot of homework to do. I wish I could stay here all night, but I can't. I wanna see him before we leave! Please!"

Ken stared at her begrudgingly, but his pace of eating quickened.

"Kinda sucks, you know?"

Yolei sucked in her breath, recognizing Ken's "heavy" voice. He only talked that way when he was worried or emotional.

"What?"

"Life going on," Ken placed his hand to shush Yolei's silent protest, "I mean, life does go on without him. In someway, I _want_ it to be impossible. I want it to be impossible for me to move on without him by my - our - sides. But we are going on. The school year is continuing. Heck, people rarely even talk about him anymore! I feel like he's just a piece of gossip that was juicy for awhile, but then got pushed aside."

Yolei hung her head and nodded.

"I know what you mean. I miss him so much, so much it hurts. And for awhile I expected everything to stand still - even time - because it hurt _that_ bad. I thought that because we were grieving, everybody else should be. But basically, what it comes down to . . ."

Ken continued her unfinished sentence, ". . . the world will go on without Davis. It's just not the same world we know. And it's not a world we want to know."

"Though sometimes I do wish I had a mute button for Davis."

Yolei cracked a grin and Ken smiled at Yolei.

"We going to do this or what?"

"Let's go!"

Yolei and Ken easily slid the halls that they had partially memorized and waved to the few nurses they knew. Yolei saw a spiky hair of burgundy poking out from the behind the snack machine and she called out.

"Jun! You're here early!"

Yolei rushed over to her and hugged her tightly around her waist. Normally they didn't get along very well, but because they had a common purpose - making sure Davis was being taken care of and visited - they had formed a sort of 'alliance'. Yolei was sure they would go back to being annoyed with one another if - when - Davis got better.

"Yeah, yeah. Go say your goodbyes because I am not sneaking you in again. I have a ton of homework to do and Matt made a new mix CD I want to listen to!"

Yolei grumbled, but perkily shot her hand up and patted Jun's hair. It was a good-luck charm Davis used to brag about when he was younger. Back than she thought he was an idiot - still does, really - but it was kind of fun to do.

"STOP. TOUCHING. MY. HAIR."

Ken laughed and patted Jun on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you could take her."

Jun smiled winningly at Ken. "You always were my favorite one of Davis's dweebs. Plus, you're actually pretty hot." Jun winked at him once before dissolving into giggles and turning back to the snack machine.

Yolei flashed a peace sign at Ken and ushered him into the room. Ken rolled his eyes, but walked over slowly across the white tile.

The room Davis was in was darker than the outside hallway. Yolei thought it was for mood ("It has to be! They want people to be sad! I think this hospital has a conspiracy going on or something!") while Ken thought they intentionally put it for a completely different reason, ("When it's dark . . . you can't see the extent of the injuries. You can't see how pale they are, or how shallow their breathing is. It's to give people more . . . hope").

The room was filled with mechanical buzzing and a consistent beeping sound. The bed that Davis laid in took up most of the room, with two more chairs crammed into the sides.

"Hey Davis!" Yolei called out cheerily, but Ken saw her posture change slightly. Her shoulders slumped and her head suddenly seemed to be heavy. The doctors had told them that Davis could, _maybe, possibly_, hear what people were saying. Ever since then, Yolei had perfected an optimistic voice, even when her body seemed to reject the idea. Once she had even cried freely, still keeping the steady voice.

"Hey," Ken whispered softly, slumping into the uncomfortable metal chair. His mind drifted freely, as Yolei's mindless chatter filled the room with noise. _'I don't know what to think. The doctors are saying that he's alright, but I know enough about medicine. It's been three weeks! His injuries are almost completely healed (for the most part, at least). Why wasn't he waking up? Or even showing some sign? A twitch of the finger would have been good enough for me. Just…wake up.' _

Jun stuck her head in, "Three more minutes, idiots!" Yolei growled at her, but dismissed her with a wave of her fingers. Those two certainly had a…comradeship, of sorts.

"Well, basically what I'm saying is wake up soon, dork. 'Cause we all love you lots, and Kari feels really guilty about this whole thing. She's not so bad, I guess. I could see why you lik_ed_ her. You don't still like her, right?" Yolei paused, as if expecting an answer before shaking her head and continuing, "Well, either way. You have to wake up. Everybody's really worried and this has just put so much angst on us! On top of teenage angst! I know you don't like that stuff, so hurry up." Yolei's voice took on a slightly whiny edge.

She shook her head, but got up and placed a kiss on Davis's forehead. Ken cocked his eyebrow and Yolei blushed.

"I . . . erm . . . forget you were in here . . ."

Ken laughed at her, "Do that often, Yolei?"

Yolei blushed brighter and hit him on the arm. "Shut up."

She walked out, no doubt going to bug Jun about one thing or another.

Ken sighed, running his fingers anxiously through his hair. He turned around slowly, leaning into the side of the machines that Davis was hooked up too.

"You know I don't like doing this," Ken began, shutting his eyes, "Because it's like we're daring fate. Every time Yolei makes me so 'goodbye' to you, it's like tempting fate to take you away from me, from everyone, and I hate it. I shouldn't have to say goodbye 'cause you'll still be here tomorrow. You're strong . . . even if you don't think so. I really . . ."

Ken broke off, a shudder racking his body. He swallowed thickly, "Well . . . see you. I'll probably be back next week. Or sooner, I don't know. Anyway. Bye."

Ken rose from the side of the machines and patted Davis's leg awkwardly. Jun brushed past him, hurrying into her brother's room.

"Hey!! I know you'd be kinda bored here, so I have the BIGGEST news to tell you. Guess who asked me out? GUESS?"

Ken laughed slightly and shook his head.

Life sure was interesting.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Taichi sighed exasperatedly, flicking a quick glance at his younger sister.

"Yes, Kari. I am _positive._ Are we going to do this or not? I could see what Joe and Izzy are up too . . ."

Kari shook her head rapidly.

"No, no! I was just checking. I want to do this. It'll be so much fun! I can't believe you actually agreed."

Hikari giggled, taking her brother's hand in hers. She dragged him forward, calling out to her mother quickly. Her mother waved half-heartedly and turned back to her TV show.

"I am retarded for doing this. Why did I ever agree to you?"

Hikari shoved him, putting on a mock hurt face.

"Well _excuse_ me! You're doing this for Sora too! I just thought it would be better, you know? For them to have support."

Taichi rolled his eyes and flicked his younger sister in the arm. "They barely know each other! Plus, don't you think we should start with something . . . smaller. A whole friggen' room of Kamiyas may be too much . . ."

Kari sighed impatiently, "Well, I think it's a perfect idea. Both of us are going on a date," Kari squirmed uneasily at Taichi's hardened gaze, "err . . . outing with our . . . significant others. And then we're going to take them for a nice fun night at the Kamiya's!"

Taichi smacked his head.

"Fun, nice, and Kamiyas don't really mix, Kar'."

Kari smiled giddily and shook her head.

"Even so . . . TK hasn't met anyone besides our parents, and Sora hasn't met anyone. Besides, I talked to her and she's really excited about this!"

Taichi looked at his little sister incredulously.

"You talked to my girlfriend? And why am I not allowed to talk to a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid?"

Kari rolled her eyes and shoved her bottom lip out a little.

"Well, maybe because when I talk to her, I don't make death threats at her! Not saying you do . . . just you know. You can be slightly over-protective."

"Hey! You were protective that one time with Stacey Glindell! Remember how you bite her . . ."

Kari stopped walking abruptly and stared at Tai. "First of all, I was jealous; spending all your time with her and _not_ your baby sister," she gave him a pointed glance, "and second of all, I was five! So please, shut up about it!"

Tai grinned goofily, "Well, I know. But that's really all I got on you, so I have to juice it."

Kari shook her head, "You're impossible."

Tai opened his mouth to retort, but Kari intervened, "Either way, we have to go get the clothes. I know you hate shopping, blah blah blah. But we really do need new clothes. It'll be fun! Who knows, maybe we'll see Joe or Izzy."

Tai snorted and turned his head to hide his amusement.

"Joe and Izzy . . . at the mall . . . without me dragging them there . . . when they could be studying . . ."

"Err . . . you got me there." Kari giggled and latched herself back onto her brother.

They walked in silence (Kari had insisted they walked even though Tai had a, "Perfectly good working car! What is your problem Kari? I don't wanna walk.") until they were only a few blocks away.

An ambulance's shrill alarm shattered the silence and the truck weaved down the rode, going at an incredible rate. Tai and Kari jumped in surprise, before Tai shrugged and shoved his hands down his pockets.

"H-hey Tai?"

Taichi blinked and looked back at Kari questioningly.

"What is it, Kari? You alright?"

Kari bit her lip, "Do you think . . . Davis will be alright?"

Tai sighed heavily and uneasily ran his fingers through his thick, wild hair. "Kari. Stop. Bringing. It. Up."

Kari's jaw locked in defiance and her eyes flamed brightly.

"Why? Are you so scared of emotions? They're not bad, Taichi. I know it hurts, it hurts me _so_ much, but I need to talk about it with someone! TK just shushs me and I couldn't possibly talk about it with Ken or Yolei!"

Tai's lip tightened and he closed his eyes, clearing trying to calm himself.

"I am not scared of anything, _Hikari_. I just don't like talking about, that's all. You have plenty of other friends anyway. Why not try talking about it with _them_?"

Kari's fist clenched unconsciously and she gritted her teeth together, "Because they are not you. They don't understand me like you do. I need someone who genuinely _cares_ about me. You think I would call them if I ended in jail? No, stupid, I would call you. Even before TK. Because you're my big brother. And it's time you started acting like it!"

Tai's eyes widened in surprise and he flinched, recoiling his body farther away from his sister. Her words had really had truth in them. He had been so wrapped up in Sora, Matt, and all the other High School matters he had become a little . . . shallow. And he didn't like it.

Kari's body shook wordlessly, her thin arms wrapping their ways around her shuddering frame. Soon wet gasps were escaping her lips and Tai tentatively placed his shaking hand on Kari's shoulder. He really shouldn't have let this happen. And he really, _really_ shouldn't have had this happen in the middle of a busy street corner. He turned his head slightly and groaned out loud. With Matt Ishida watching him with his freakin' jaw slacked. Great . . .

Tai shook her gently, wrapping his fingers loosely around her pink scarf that TK had bought her.

"Kari, Kari. Look, I'm so sorry. You're right. I haven't been acting like a good older brother. But I will. I promise. We just have to get out of here . . ."

Kari shook her head, but Tai didn't think she was answering him. He grabbed her shoulders gently and pulled her away from the gaping people. Kari Kamiya wasn't one to break down - especially in front of all these people - which made Tai feel that much worse. If she had snapped now, she had been feeling this way for a long time. And Tai hated himself for not noticing.

"Come on, Kar'," Tai ushered his little sister quietly into a seldom busy coffee shop, sparing only a glance at the blonde-haired boy, "I promise we'll be able to talk here."

Tai smiled unconvincingly at a waitress when she cocked a brow, hurriedly rushing Kari to a back table. He sat opposite of her after briefly debating if he should keep her in his arms.

Tai waited a few minutes until Kari's sobs became less frequent, flinching slightly at every sharp intake of breath. He knew he should just let her run her course. Regardless of what he wanted, she _needed_ this.

"You wanted to Hikari. I'm ready." Tai's voice shook slightly and he mentally rolled his eyes at himself. Battling a group of five guys? Sure! Dealing with a romantic relationship? Why not?! Getting shot? Fine. Dealing with a crying girl? . . . No.

Kari shook her shoulders, but finally brought her red, swollen eyes to met her brothers.

"I don't want to be some charity case, Tai. Just forget it. Really."

Tai rolled his eyes and reached over the table to grab his sister's hand. He wasn't really one for public displays of affection, but when it came to his sister he would do anything. Including, selling his soul or, to the lesser extent, giving up his dignity.

"You have not, will not, or be so in the future, a charity case. Stop being so dramatic."

Kari sniffled, but managed a weak glare. "Fine then. I'm sorry I broke down there. I just kind of had a lot of pressure on me and I guess I just . . . snapped."

"It happens to the best of us," Tai grinned cheekily, rubbing his thumb over Kari's hand, "If you had to so, I'm glad it was with me. I want to help you with whatever, Kars, you know that."

Kari nodded and a wet laugh erupted from her lips.

"I never thought I'd be the one embarrassing the one in public. That's been your forte for awhile now."

Tai mock-gasped and put his hand up to his mouth. "I'm shocked you would say that, Kari."

Kari laughed again, glad the tension was easing slightly.

Tai's face grew serious suddenly and he leaned forward.

"Tell me what you were talking about earlier. I want to be here for you."

"Well, it's nothing really. I've just felt so . . . alone these past weeks, I can't even describe it. I'm with people constantly, people I love. TK is with me all the time, Ken and Yolei are almost always at the hospital when I visit, and you're always waiting for me at home. I don't understand why I feel like this."

Tai rolled his eyes, despite himself, and leaned back into the booth.

"Isn't it obvious, Kari? I mean I'm no psychologist or whatever they're called, but even I know this. You're surrounded by people physically, but ever since what happened with Davis you've been separating yourself mentally. It's like how I was a few years back. You have too much guilt Kar'. That was not your fault."

Kari grew angrily suddenly and she slammed her fist on the table.

"I wish everyone would stop saying that! I am to blame. I am. Because of my petty jealous I put Davis in the hospital! If I hadn't been such of a _bitch_, he would have never gone out there. Don't you see?"

Tai's expression softened and he closed his eyes. "Don't swear, Kari, it doesn't suit you."

Kari 'hmmphed', but fell silent when Tai continued.

"You are not to blame. Not even close. I'm not going to go through this again. I know what guilt is, Kar'. But I learned something. You can't blame yourself for everything. It will literally rip you apart from the inside. When . . . _she_ . . . did that to me a few years ago, I wanted to die. I thought it was my fault and I constantly blamed myself. But now I know there was nothing I could do. I didn't control her. Those were her decisions, not mine."

Kari bit back a gasp, "How could you even compare this to that? It's completely different!"

Tai opened one eye, "Is it?"

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

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I didn't really change anything this chapter. Getting close to the end now!! :D

As always, I would apperciate it if you reviewed.


	14. little by little, day by day

**WARNING: **Exceeding amounts of FLUFF (mostly for Taiora); Angst; NEW WRITING STYLE; Regular warnings apply for my lack of skill. ONE SWEAR!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this marvelous universe; it all belongs to Toei Animation, I believe.

**Dedication: **The Solar Being and Tehbot for their _**awesome** _birthday presents. Seriously, go check them out. _Now_.

**Reviewers:** Thanks so much for the warm welcome. I loved each and every review. You guys keep me going, I swear. Thanks!! :D

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait. Hopefully, the length makes up for it. Don't expect this again. It took FOREVER. *_rubs hand gingerly_* Oww….

**Rating:** T - for swearing, teenage angst, plain angst, horrible writing, etc.

**Poll – **See previous chapter; _**Please take my poll, located above my bio. It will honestly help me out. Please and thank you!**_

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**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Sora sighed exasperatedly, throwing the pink dress onto her bed. She bent down, shuffling through her other discarded items. She momentarily picked up a purple shirt before throwing it back down.

"Ugh! What is _wrong_ with me?!" Sora shrieked loudly, collapsing onto her double bed. She drummed her fingers uneasily, her auburn eyes glued to the digital clock beside her bed. She laid there for a few minutes watching the red numbers change.

"I have to figure this out," she mumbled, rising off her wrinkled blankets. She breathed deeply as she ran her fingers through her hair.

She quietly talked to herself, "I mean, it's not even that big of a deal. I'm just meeting the boy – who I'm pretty convinced I'm in _love_ with – and his entire friggen' family. No big deal. None at all. Nope." Sora rolled her eyes, banging her head lightly against her blue wall.

"Oh great, now I'm talking to myself," she tilted her head to the side, "and actually listening to myself! What is going on?"

Sora's eyes swept her war-torn floor, filled with discarded clothes and various jewelry. Sora closed her eyes, turning to her door. She steadfastly walked down her stairs and fell ungracefully onto her coach.

"What's wrong, little lady?" Sora jumped, an 'eep' escaping her lips. She threw her hands out in front of her in a position of defense.

"Woah, calm down, pumpkin. It's just me. You're slightly crazy grandfather." The old, wrinkled man smiled reassuringly at his granddaughter. Sora gingerly set her hands down, her heart rate still beating erratically.

"Sorry, Grandpa. I'm just a little wound up," Sora smiled, resting her head on her hands.

"So it seems. A little birdy told me you were going to a pretty important party," Sora's grandfather smiled teasingly, "With a pretty important boy, I've heard."

Sora blushed, her hair falling limply in front of her face. "Did mom tell you?"

Her grandfather laughed, "No, it was a little birdy. Remember your _friend_? Leo, or someone?"

Sora smiled, "Biyo. My imaginary friend. I haven't thought about her for ages."

Her grandfather laughed while rocking back into his chair. "So tell me about this boy."

Sora colored, biting her lip. "His name is Tai, Grandpa. Not boy."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Tai."

"You've met him, remember?"

Her grandfather feathered his brows. He leaned back into his chair, staring off into space. Sora opened her mouth to speak, but her grandfather held out a finger.

"Just let me think, young one."

Sora protested quietly, "B-but Grandpa. You can't remember. I just remembered. That was the day you weren't on your meds."

Sora's grandfather turned to her, "Really now?"

"Yeah . . . I remember 'cause, well . . ."

"You were embarrassed of me?" He prodded gently.

Sora shot up, "No, grandpa. Don't say that. I love you, alright? I'm not embarrassed about you. Not in the slightest."

He raised a hand, telling her to stop. "There's no need to explain, Sora. Sometimes I'm even a little embarrassed of myself. That's what happens when you get old, I suppose."

"No, but Grandpa –."

"Hush, Sora. Weren't we originally discussing a different problem? What is that is making you yell from your room?"

Sora laughed lightly and grinned. "I can't decide what to wear. I really want to impress him, err, them."

"Well, we have two solutions. If you want to impress the boy's family then I'm sure your mother can help you. If you want to impress the boy then I'm sure he could help."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just call the boy. Tai, is it? I'm sure he'll be able to help you."

Sora rolled her eyes fondly, "Grandpa, you don't understand."

"I'm sure I do. Now just call the young man."

"Grandpa –"

"Now."

"But –"

"Sora," her grandfather chided gently. "Listen to this old man for once."

Sora crossed her arms begrudgingly. "Alright, alright."

Sora smiled, giving her Grandfather a quick hug, before skipping into her kitchen. She was in a much better mood than before. She picked up her wireless phone, tapping in Tai's phone number. The phone rang for a few seconds, before she heard another sound on the other end.

"Hello?" Tai questioned.

"Hi, Tai."

"Oh, hey Sora! How are you?"

Sora smiled, twisting her hair around her finger.

"Fine, I guess. I was just wondering if you could come over," Sora smiled.

She heard Tai snort happily into the phone. "Can't stay away from me for long, can we?"

Sora blushed and if he had been within distance, she would have hit him. "Shuddup, Tai. Can you come over or not?"

"We-ll, I was pretty busy with the party – "

Sora nodded, surprised about how upset she felt.

" – but for you, I can make an exception. Just let me get away from my mom, 'kay?"

Sora smiled widely, "Thanks Tai. I really need your advice."

"About what?" Tai responded instantly.

"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" He continued.

Sora shushed him quickly, "Don't worry. It's nothing to be afraid of. I just need to know what to wear!"

Tai laughed into the phone, "Oh my God, Sor'. You're channeling Mimi."

"And that's a bad thing?" Sora responded instantly.

Tai's tone was softer, "No, actually. It's a great thing."

"Good. Now get your butt over here."

Tai sighed into the phone, "How am I so lucky?"

Sora laughed, "It helps that you're hot."

Tai snorted, "Glad you think so, baby."

Sora blushed at his rare pet name, "Just come over, you idiot."

"Will do."

"Bye."

"Later."

Sora flitted around her house, picking up various odds and ends. It wasn't the first time Tai had been over – far from it – but he usually only came in for a few minutes. They never actually hung out there. He just came in when he was picking her up. Sora shoved the dishes into the dishwasher and put the soap in just as the doorbell rang. Sora ran to the door, slightly breathless as she swung the door open.

Tai grinned – his normal, knee-buckling smile – and shoved his hand through his messy hair.

"Hey, Sor'."

Sora smiled widely, ushering her boyfriend in. Though things had been a little rocky in the beginning (and Mimi had blamed that on UST. Otherwise known as Unresolved Sexual Tension), things were picking up – fast. Though Sora had been in her share of relationships before this, with Tai she felt different. For a long time, she hadn't believed that people could fall in love at her age. But, like most things, she was afraid that Tai was proving her wrong. They had still yet to say the words outright, but Sora knew (though it took her awhile to admit it), that she definitely _felt_ it.

"Hi Taichi." She tried to look nonchalant, but she quickly flung her arms around him in a hug. She blushed happily as he tightened his arms around her.

Tai gently pushed her back slightly so he could look at her face. "So what do you need help with again?"

Sora giggled – feeling slightly slaphappy – and grabbed his hand so she could pull him to her room. She pushed her boyfriend on her bed and he smirked, looking around.

"Wow, Sora. I never knew you would have so much pink in your room."

Sora glared at him, "I am a girl, you know."

His voice dropped an octave, "Oh, believe me. I know. I _definitely_ know."

Sora let out an indignant squeak, throwing a pillow at Tai. "You're such a perv."

Tai coolly caught the pillow, throwing it back at his girlfriend. "That's why you love me."

Sora grinned, "That and many, many other reasons." She smiled, falling on top of him. Sora enjoyed their playful banter. Tai wasn't really one for being touchy-feely, so he often expressed his sentiments towards her using humor. Sora knew that they had implied they loved each other, but neither of them had straight out said "I love you". She knew words didn't affect their feelings, but it would be nice to have it . . . concrete.

Tai flipped her over, so he was on top of her. She blushed hotly, but didn't protest. Tai looked at her with compassion in his eyes. "Am I allowed to kiss you?"

Sora bit her lip, pretending to debate. "Yes, that'd be nice."

Just as Tai was leaning his head in, Sora quickly pushed him away. "Oops, I forgot. You have to help me get ready!" She pushed herself up and Tai groaned unhappily.

"No Sora! Not fair. Playing all hard to get . . ." He mumbled, burrowing his head in her pillows.

Sora put her hands on her hips, "Come on, Tai. Maybe – and that's a big maybe – after you help, I'll give you a kiss."

Tai groaned again, sitting up. "You're such a tease, Sora Takenouchi."

"And that's why you love me," Sora repeated Tai's words.

"Yeah, I know," Tai mumbled. He beckoned towards her pile of clothes. "Are we gonna get this over with?"

Sora put her hands on her hips, "Don't make it sound like a chore, Taichi."

Tai rolled his eyes, "Because picking out clothes with your girlfriend is so much fun."

"Can it, Kamiya."

Tai sighed, standing up from her bed. "Let's get this over with already . . ."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Mimi Tachikawa crossed her arms, waiting for her best friend to meet her. She was waiting below Beth's apartment building, looking up at the building exasperatedly. She closed her eyes and leaned against the side of the building.

"Hey!" Beth chirped happily as Mimi slid off the building, falling to the ground. Mimi glared up at Beth beneath her bangs.

"Why did you scare me?!"

Beth held up her hands defensively, "Hey, hey. I didn't mean to Baby Tachikawa." Beth smiled as she saw Mimi's face flame. Mimi got up, ignoring the hand Beth had offered, and pulled at her coat defensively. "Don't call me that, Beth! It's bad enough that your brothers call me that. All the time, I might add. If you start, I am not going anywhere with you."

Beth shrugged her shoulders and turned towards the elevator. Mimi yelled out, grabbing onto Beth's green scarf. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Beth pointed to her building, "Home. Where it is warm. And I'm not being attacked by freaked out friends."

Mimi rolled her eyes, grabbing Beth's hand and pulling her forward.

"Okay, tell me why I'm here again? I mean, aren't you just walking to John's house?" Beth questioned.

Mimi folded her arms over her chest. "You know why your here. No one else was available anyway. Both Kamiyas and Sora had to go to this dumb party. Joe is doing some project and I can't really take Izzy!"

"Why not?"

Mimi stopped walking altogether, looking at Beth like she had gone mad. "Hello?! Anyone home? Of course, I can't bring Izzy. I mean, Matt is there. Yamato Ishida. Get it?"

Beth bit her lip, tilting her head to the side. "I thought you were, and I quote, way over him?"

"I may be way over him, but every sane girl knows not to bring your current boyfriend to meet your ex-boyfriend, of who you know longer speak too."

"So it's true? You're really dating Izzy?" Beth looked at Mimi, waiting for her response.

Mimi nodded, "Yeah. We have gone on a ton of dates . . . and he is one of my best friends. Why wouldn't I date him?"

Beth sighed, pulling her hat down. "Yeah, but Meems . . . you don't really like him, do you?"

"What are you talking about, Beth? Of course, I like him! Why wouldn't I like him? He's _great_."

Beth rolled her eyes, mimicking Mimi. "Well, duh. I know all that. Meems, by this stage in the relationship, let's face it, you're not usually so shy around him!"

Mimi shrugged, looking slightly ashamed. "Maybe we're just different. I still really like him."

"But, come on! How many times have you actually kissed? Held hands? _Hugged_?"

Mimi blushed slightly, pushing her hair out of the way. "Well, I know it's going kind of slow, but . . . still!"

Beth sighed deeply, putting her hands on Mimi's shoulders. "I'm gonna practice some tough love here, 'kay?"

Mimi looked a little apprehensive, but nodded.

"I think - and this is just a theory, so don't freak out - that you _don't _really like Izzy."

Mimi opened her mouth to protest, but Beth kept going. "I know you like him as a friend. That much is blatantly obvious. But romantically? No, not really. I know you think you do, but Mimi . . . you don't."

Mimi looked at her in disbelief for a few seconds, before responding hotly. "How would _you _know who _I _feel? You think you know everything, Beth. But the truth is you have no idea!"

Beth shrugged her shoulders, not showing any emotion. "Whatever Meems. I'm over it. I just didn't want you - or him - to get hurt. He doesn't deserve it. You don't either, as a matter of fact. Just . . . face the facts Mimi. You need to grow up. Really grow up," Beth stated harshly.

Beth turned around, pushing her way through the crowds of shoppers on the street. Mimi stared at her for a minute, shocked by the events that just took place, but shook her head and continued in the opposite direction. No matter how many times she tried forgot what Beth said to her, the words kept ringing loudly in her ears. Not even her cherished iPod could rid herself of the things her best friend - if they still were friends - said to her.

Mimi blinked back tears, not expecting to feel this badly. She and Beth had fought - numerous times, as a matter of fact - because they both had strong opinions, and, to be honest, horrible tempers. It didn't help that they were both stubborn as mules. But Mimi couldn't shake the odd, ominous feeling out her head. Beth had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. She was beginning to feel the same way about Sora, but what about that saying? _'Make new friends, keep the old. One is sliver, the other gold.' _Even though she hadn't heard anyone say that since nursery school, Mimi was troubled by the simple words.

"Hey, watch it!" A nameless passerby yelled at Mimi, shoving her off of him. She shook her head, murmuring a quick "sorry" before putting her head back down. In twenty minutes, Mimi looked up, only to find the house of John. She stood staring at it for a minute, not really believing her luck.

"Well, I've always believed in fate. Though, the word fate is a little strong in this instance . . ." Mimi trailed off and pressed her manicured finger to the doorbell. It rang cheerfully and she waited for a few minutes. The door opened and Mimi brightened up.

"Hey John!" She called out happily, before becoming red in the face and retracting her words. "Err . . . sorry. Matt." She gave a stiff nod and he smirked. He opened the door wider and gestured inside.

"Come on."

She followed him inside silently, avoiding his eyes.

He turned a corner, not making any other comments. They arrived shortly in a large, sunny room. Mimi cleared her throat awkwardly. "Umm...where is everybody?"

Matt smiled, "We're in our 'partners'. We're gonna meet up in a big room later on. Is that okay?"

He asked the question like he was genuinely interested in the answer. Mimi looked at him for a minute, trying to figure out what was going on, before nodding. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Cool. Let's start." Matt sat down on the leather sofa, letting Mimi take the big, comfy red chair. Mimi smiled at him warily, her defenses completely up. They worked in silence, occasionally meeting each other's glances.

"So," Matt began timidly, "What have you been up to?"

Mimi blinked, clearly surprised that he was initiating small talk. Mimi watched Matt carefully, trying to find an ulterior motive in his simple words.

"Not much, I guess," Mimi said begrudgingly, reaching over to grab a pencil.

"You're going out with Izzy," Matt stated bluntly, not meeting Mimi in the eyes.

Mimi stared at him, "Yeah . . . what's it to you?"

Matt held his hands up in defense, "Hey, nothing! I mean, I'm just . . . you know, happy for you guys. I mean, Izzy's a great guy and you guys would make a cute couple."

Mimi's jaw slacked, her mouth hanging open widely. She stared at him with wide eyes for a minute before snapping her mouth shut. "Err, yeah. Thanks. Are you, umm, friends with Izzy?"

Matt sighed, visibly upset. "No."

"Err, sorry about that."

It was Matt's turn to be shocked. "Sorry? For _what_?"

Mimi shrugged, trying to look indifferent. Truthfully, she was freaking out inside. This was the most either of them had talked since they broke up, not counting the endless profanities they yelled at each other.

"Well it's kind of, you know, my fault. They took my side in it and now they kind of hate you."

Matt shook his head back and forth rapidly. "That was my fault. I mean, if I never freaked out, none of this would have happened. I would still have my friends . . . and _you_."

Mimi's eyes widened and her breath turned shallow. She was not ready for this. Their first civil conversation with each other and they were already talking about Sophomore year? This was going way to fast.

"No, it's, err, my fault. I mean, I made you loose your best friend," Mimi babbled, not listening to the words that were bubbling from her mouth. She just talked so she wouldn't look like an eleven year old getting flustered over a boy.

Matt didn't answer for a minute, running things through his head. He was friends with Tai - not best, yet - but they agreed to keep it secret until Joe and Izzy were more comfortable with the situation. He sighed deeply_. 'But I can't lie to Mimi . . . not again. So what am I supposed to do?' _

"Well, actually," Matt began, clearing his throat. "Tai and I are . . . kind of . . . friends. Well, we're trying, I mean." Matt blushed, squeezing his eyes shut.

Mimi gasped loudly and jumped up from her seat. Matt jumped up at the sound and was surprised to see Mimi's face inches from his own.

"WHAT?!"

Matt jumped again, holding his hands up. "Hey, hey! Don't freak out."

Mimi exhaled deeply, lowering her palms slowly besides her face, as if the shock was draining out of her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Mimi demanded angrily, stopping herself from poking him in the chest.

"I-I . . .we didn't even talk to e-each other!" He stuttered, his eyes frightened.

Mimi seemed to deliberate what he said, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

"True . . . but why didn't _Tai_ tell me?!"

"He forget?" Matt offered weakly.

Mimi shook her head, pacing around the room. "He should have told me. I mean, I was the one who made a gesture! I made the first move to get our friendship back on track! The least he could do was tell me this! He has to still remember how much I like to talk!" Mimi ranted angrily, sitting down in the chair stiffly.

"I don't think anyone could forget," Matt piped in sarcastically. Mimi smiled - really smiled - at the blonde.

"This is easy, isn't it?" She questioned softly, looking him straight in the eyes. Matt cleared his throat, but nodded.

"Yeah, it is."

"Easier than I expected."

"_Much_," Matt agreed, smiling.

"With that in mind," Mimi began, leaning into the chair, "I propose we act, at least, civilly to each other."

"I agr - "

"Wait," Mimi demanded, sticking a finger at him.

"I'm not saying we'll be friends, per say. I'm not ready for that. Not after what you did to me. But I do say that we get this thing going again."

Matt's mind immediately flashed to Mimi's hand intertwined in his and he blushed.

"We have to get the group together again!" Mimi continued excitedly.

"With Sora, of course," she added as an afterthought.

"Of course," Matt agreed weakly, collapsing back into his chair.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"What are we doing here again?" Yolei questioned loudly, swinging the door to the coffee shop open.

Ken sighed, holding the door open for an elderly couple.

"Joe and Izzy wanted to meet us here. I've told you that almost ten times," Ken stressed, following Yolei into the shop. Yolei glared at him, taking a seat in the back of the shop.

"Should we order?" Yolei questioned absentmindedly, looking at all of the choices on the menu.

"Let's wait," Ken said, watching the door impatiently. He was surprised when Izzy had called him asking to meet Joe and himself for coffee with Yolei. They hadn't really spent any time together separately before, so Ken could only stammer out a quick yes over the phone.

"They should be here soon," Ken added, looking up at the ceiling.

Yolei blew a puff of hair out her eyes and leaned on her hands, "They better get here quickly. I have to study." She grimaced.

"You do, do you?"

"That's a cool sentence. It's the same way backwards as it is forwards!"

"Kind of like a palindrome," Ken added dryly.

"Yeah," Yolei responded brightly, smiling at her friend.

"I take it you're not allowed to go the hospital," Ken stated, watching one of the waiters carefully.

Yolei followed his eyes, but couldn't see what he was looking at. "No, I'm not," she spoke, furrowing her eyebrows. She leaned from the booth, trying to see what Ken was studying so intently.

"What are looking at?" Yolei asked bluntly.

Ken jerked his hand towards a small, brown-haired boy.

"Him."

Yolei looked at her friend strangely, ". . . Why?"

"Because he looks familiar."

The brown-haired youth finally turned around, finishing whatever job he was doing.

Yolei jumped up, "Cody!"

Ken flinched at Yolei's loud outburst, attracting most of the attention in the room. Yolei had the grace to blush, but hurriedly gestured Cody over before sitting back down.

"Nice," Ken remarked, leaning back in the cushions.

"Oh, be quiet," Yolei hissed under her breath, before turning around to meet Cody.

Yolei smiled brightly, reaching out and touching him on the arm. "I didn't know you worked here!"

Cody blushed under their gaze and fidgeted, pulling down his uniform.

"Yeah, well, I just started working here a few weeks back."

"That's really cool, Cody." Ken added, smiling at the boy. Cody tentatively smiled back.

Yolei put her hands on her hips, sticking out her lower lip. "Still, you could have told me. I mean, we are _neighbors_, after all."

Ken scratched his chin wistfully, "I don't even know my neighbors' names. My mom sends them food sometimes, though."

Yolei stared at him for a second before continuing, "_Anyway_, it's really great you're working her, Cody. Want to give us some free coffee?" Yolei smiled up at him from beneath her eyelashes, trying to appear flirty.

Cody's eyes widened and his face flamed red. "Uhh, err, I don't, umm," He stuttered, his eyes still locked on the lavender haired girl.

Ken rolled his eyes, turning to face Cody. "Don't worry about her. We don't expect that of you. After all," Ken said, directing his face at Yolei, "we wouldn't want to get you in trouble."

Yolei crossed her arms, her lips in a full pout. "Fine, fine. You have a point, I know."

Ken rolled his eyes at Yolei, but smiled at Cody. "You can go back to work now. We wouldn't want to keep your customers waiting."

Yolei sighed, but reluctantly nodded.

"It was nice seeing you, Cody."

"You too," Cody said politely, before turning around and returning to his job.

Yolei smiled softly, waving when Cody glanced back at their table. She turned to Ken and reached across the table to flick him in the arm.

"Oww, what was that for?"

Yolei smiled menacingly. "For making me look bad in front of Cody."

Ken suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, "I hardly think he noticed."

"All the same," Yolei began, but eventually trailed off. She pointed towards the door.

"Look."

Ken turned his head, before getting up and walking over. He smiled when he reached the older boys.

"Hi Izzy. Hi Joe."

Joe and Izzy turned, their eyes lighting up when they saw Ken.

"How's it going?" Izzy questioned, already spotting Yolei and making his way over to the table. Joe made small talk with Ken as they walked over to the table.

"Hey!" Yolei greeted, snatching up a menu. Ken rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face contradicted it.

"She's in a need for some caffeine."

"Good thing we're in a coffee shop," Joe said seriously.

Izzy spoke out, "Technically speaking, Joe, we aren't in a coffee shop. We're in a diner, but most people in Odaiba call this the coffee shop because that's their most popular - "

"I think they get it, Izzy."

Yolei and Ken nodded, not really in the mood for one of Izzy's long winded explanations.

"Err, right," Izzy said, his cheeks coloring slightly.

"Anyway, we're here to see if you guys need anything," Joe continued, regarding with his best friend with a slightly amused look.

Yolei blinked and turned to Ken. They both turned to face the older boys and spoke at the same time:

"Why?"

Izzy shrugged, not looking up from his menu.

"We figured since Davis was in the hospital, you would want to talk about it with someone. That's why I came. Joe came," Izzy said, jerking a finger in the blue-haired youth's direction, "because we thought he could help put you at ease. Since his father's a doctor and all."

"I guess," Yolei agreed, watching the other two apprehensively.

"Why didn't you ask us in the beginning? Not that I don't appreciate this, but we've come along way from the way we used to be," Ken questioned, tilting his head at Izzy and Joe.

Izzy readjusted himself in his chair, but spoke clearly. "We wanted to give you time to heal on your own. It would have just been rude of us to start asking questions in the beginning."

"When your emotions were the rawest," added Joe.

Yolei and Ken glanced at each other, but nodded.

"That makes sense."

"So," Joe began, pushing his glasses back on his nose, "do you want to talk about it?"

Yolei was about to shake her head, but suddenly changed her mind.

"Yeah."

"Go on," Izzy prodded gently.

Yolei absently twisted her hair around her finger, "What are the chances of Davis making it through this?"

Ken's eyes widened and he stared at his friend incredulously.

"Why would you ask that?" Ken demanded angrily, a little put out.

Yolei shrugged, turning her face so the other boys wouldn't see her tears.

"I just wanted the truth. Not the sugarcoated crap the doctors have been giving us. I'm so sick of, 'Well, sweetikins, there's a chance he'll be just like normal. Of course, I can't guarantee anything, honey.' Or 'Of course, he'll be fine. Don't be ridiculous!'"

Joe sighed, "Well, Yolei, I can't answer that very well. I don't know all of the details. I know Davis went in to a coma because of a head injury, but I don't know much more than that."

"Do you know anything?" Izzy asked quietly.

Ken nodded, "Well, I know a coma worker is working with Davis."

Yolei looked confused. "Who's that?"

"The one lady . . . you don't remember?"

"No, I do. What does she do? I never really understood," Yolei admitted sheepishly.

"I can answer that," Joe intervened. "A coma worker tries to discover what kind of communication channels are open with the patient and uses them to relate to the patients experience. They often use small, almost unrecognizable twitches or fidgets from the patient."

Yolei nodded excitedly. "Well, that means he'll be up soon, right?!"

Joe cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well . . . actually the main goal isn't getting them awake."

"What?!"

Ken answered Yolei's angry retort. "They notice when their brain waves have more activity as well. They usually use it on patients so they can make decisions. In fact, coma workers are most often used with," Ken swallowed deeply, "patients who are close to death."

Yolei's eyes started watering and she opened her mouth to reply, but Joe held his hands up quickly.

"Wait, wait! I'm sure that's not it. If I know anything, it's that Davis's injuries aren't horrible! The main problem was that his head collided with the pavement when he got hit! He's not close to death - I swear."

Yolei looked at him accusingly, but soon collapsed back into the booth. "Thank God."

"I didn't mean to scare you. Sorry," Ken added sheepishly.

"No problem," Yolei muttered.

"Have any more questions?"

"Not really. I don't think my heart could take that scare again."

"Well, I guess that's understandable. Izzy and I will go get the drinks. Do you have anything you want?"

After Yolei and Ken gave their orders, they watched the older boys walk to the front.

"That was terrifying," Yolei admitted, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Again, Yolei, I'm sorry."

"'Tis fine," Yolei mumbled, as Ken placed an arm on her shoulder.

"No, it's not. Is it?"

"Not at all."

"I know."

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

"Ohh, it's so good to see you!" Taichi's mother, Yuuko, exclaimed happily, ushering her family members in. The family of six smiled and idly started talking with Yuuko; unceremoniously dumping their coats into Tai's waiting arms. Tai bit back a groan and flashed a small smile in their general direction. No one responded, so Tai rolled his eyes and turned around.

"Okay then," he muttered sarcastically, weaving his ways through the limbs of his family. He finally reached his destination - his room - and dumped the coats on top of the already growing pile. Tai grumbled lowly, sitting down in his computer chair.

"What are you doing?" Kari piped in, her face inches away from her brothers. Tai jumped up, knocking his forehead with Kari's.

"Jeez, Kar'. Trying to give me a friggen heart attack or something?" Tai asked sarcastically, glaring at his sister as he rubbed his throbbing forehead.

Kari rolled her eyes at her brother, her own hand massaging her injured forehead.

"Yes, Tai. You figured out my one goal in life. Nice . . ."

Tai brought his head up just enough so he could glare at his sister.

"Anyway," Kari began, "why are you being so pouty?"

Tai snorted, "I'm not being 'pouty', Kari. I'm not a girl."

Kari put her hands on her hips and let out an aggravated huff. "So you're saying only girls can get pouty?"

Tai nodded, smirking happily. "Yep. Just look at you. You're pouting."

Kari stopped pushing out her bottom lip, "Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Am not."

". . . I'm not going to fall for that. Stop getting all your tricks from cartoons."

"You suck," Tai complained, letting his head fall back on the chair.

"So, either way, why are you _upset_?"

Tai shrugged, trying to look indifferent.

Kari glared at him for a minute, before her eyes lit up. "Ohh."

"What?"

"Somebody misses their honey."

Tai snorted, pushing himself up. "Whatever."

Kari grinned at him, following as he walked out of their room.

Tai turned around, pointing to their kitchen that was almost bursting with the amount of food. "Aren't you on kitchen duty?"

"Yes, but I just wanted to talk to my older brother."

Tai gave her the thumbs up tiredly. "Good for you." Tai turned around, once again making his way through the crowds of people occupying his apartment.

"Hey, you never denied missing your honey!" Kari called out, smirking as her brother's posture stiffened and he clenched his fists.

"Love you too, bro." Kari laughed to herself and made her way to the kitchen. Kari and TK had gone out earlier tonight, but they both agreed for TK to come later on in the evening. Kari would be busy helping for awhile and she didn't want TK waiting around for her. Apparently, Tai and Sora agreed on the same thing because that was the only explanation for her brother's lousy mood.

Kari grinned at her various Aunts and Uncles, making small talk with everyone she met. The doorbell rang again and Kari peeked her head out from the kitchen (she must have done that a hundred times by now) to see who it was. Luckily, the Kamiyas' generally had dark, light, or caramel colored hair so she would be able to tell if her boyfriend got here.

She grinned wildly as she saw the golden locks appear over the heads of her relatives. She quickly said goodbye to her cousin and made her way to the front door.

"How's it going?"

"Horrible."

"That's . . . nice."

"I know."

"Okay."

Kari giggled quietly, listening in on her brother's and boyfriend's conversation. After all this time and they were still awkward with each other. She smiled, sidling up to the boys.

"Hi TK."

TK's face brightened and he turned to his girlfriend happily.

"Hey, Kari!"

Kari beamed, hugging her boyfriend tightly around the waist. TK hugged her back, his eyes traveling around the room.

"Woah," he breathed.

Kari looked up, putting a little distance between their chests.

"What?"

His eyes twinkled as he smiled at her playfully.

"A lot of family members," he stated bluntly.

Kari giggled and nodded. "Then I suggest we get going, don't you?"

She smiled, pulling him into the mass of bodies. Tai smiled softly, watching his sister and her date interacting with his family. Even though he pretended not to, he really did have a soft spot for the kid. And not just because he was Matt Ishida's brother. Tai shook his head, riding himself of his accidental musings.

"Theresa!" Tai's mother exclaimed ecstatically, pulling her into a fierce hug. Theresa smiled brightly and hugged her sister-in-law back. Tai smiled amusedly, happy for his mother. His mother was extremely close to her in-laws.

"I'm going to get take a breather," Tai called out to no one in particular, slinking out the front door. Though it was great - if not a little tiring - having his family over, Tai really needed some space. He breathed the fresh air in deeply, watching appreciatively as he watched his breath in the cold. He closed his eyes, leaning his upper torso over the edge.

"I don't think that's very safe," a familiar voice chided lightly. Tai spun around, his eyes wide, and his pulse beating erratically. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sora's familiar red hair.

"Is every girl I know trying to kill me or what?" He muttered sarcastically, a grin playing on his lips. Sora put her hands on her hips in mock annoyance.

"First of all, I don't know what you're talking about. Second of all, aren't you going to compliment me on my dress?"

Tai smiled and laughed deeply, embracing Sora tightly. He took in the flowery scent of her perfume, breathing into her neck. "I helped you pick it out, you know."

Sora laughed with him, pulling back slightly. "Yeah, I know. But it's still nice to hear it." She stuck out her red lips, morphing her face into a classic pout. Tai laughed again, but happily compiled to her request.

"You look good."

Sora raised a brow, "Just good?"

Tai smiled again, his grin filling his whole face. "No, not just good. Amazing, beautiful, breathtaking, awe-inspiring, magnificent, astounding, spectacular, incred - Well, you get the point."

"Yeah. I didn't know you had such a way with words, Mr. Kamiya."

Tai winked, "There's a lot of things you don't know about, Miss Takenouchi."

'_That's what worries me,' _Sora thought momentarily, before shaking the thoughts out of her head. She didn't need to worry on a night like this. Tonight was going to be fun. Meeting the parents was a big step, anyway.

Tai grasped Sora's hand in his own as they walked into Tai's front door. Tai knew his mother would confront Sora immediately - as she had been doing with all guests so far - and wanted to give her a little reassurance. Sora's posture was relaxed, but Tai knew her well enough that he could see the little signs of concern etched in her features. He gave her hand a quick squeeze, before taking a breath and opening the door.

Immediately, (just as Tai had guessed) his mother's face erupted into a hundred watt grin and she bluntly pulled Sora into a hug. Sora looked shocked for a minute, her posture stiffening, but she slowly grew more comfortable and hugged her back. Tai's mom gently pushed her away, her brown eyes sparkling.

"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Sora," Yuuko spoke comfortably, as if talking to her long-lost daughter.

Sora smiled winningly, "It's so great to meet you too, Mrs. Kamiya. Tai's told me all about you. I'm so excited!"

Yuuko smiled, blushing lightly at the girl's praise. She gestured towards the crowd of people, "I wouldn't want to keep you waiting. There are lots of people to meet, I'm sure. Hope you don't get too overwhelmed."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," Sora laughed, smiling brightly at the older woman. Tai couldn't stop a grin from breaking out on his face_. 'This is all going so easy. If anyone ruins this, I'll kill them,'_ Tai thought, not exactly sure if he was being serious.

"Well, we better get this over with," Tai groaned theatrically, pulling Sora to his side. Sora smiled up at him, whispering into his ear. "Stop being such a baby. I'm excited to meet your relatives. They seem cool!"

Tai shrugged, "Yeah, whatever you say. Take it from someone who knows: they're annoying."

"But you still love them," Sora stated simply, more of a statement than an actual question.

"Yep," Tai agreed, smiling at his girlfriend.

"And who is this?" A slightly nasally voice asked. Tai bit back a groan - this particular great aunt (or something like that) was known for running her mouth - and turned around with a smile plastered on his face.

"Hey, Aunt Marie," Tai greeted coolly, tightening his grip on Sora. Sora's gaze flickered to him momentarily, but she extended her hand.

"I'm Sora Takenouchi. It's great to meet you."

Tai's aunt looked Sora up and down, clearly assessing her. She gave a small purr, "Well, Tai, you could have done worse." Sora awkwardly brought her hand back to her side, growing slightly red in the face.

Tai's eyes widened and he felt an unexplainable urge to smack his palm against his forehead. This woman just wouldn't _learn_.

Sora took it in stride, though, and quickly bounced back. "Thank you . . . I guess," Sora smiled widely, "So what are you interested in?"

Marie ignored Sora, turning to Tai. "She's fine, but what about that one girl you used to date?" Tai stiffened and his eyes were wide and frightened. His Aunt either didn't notice or ignored him, because she kept going. "Kali or Karly? Something like that. She was a looker, if I do say so myself. You guys seemed so close. Whatever happened to her?"

"Different interests," Tai barked out, grinding his teeth together.

His Aunt stared at him disapprovingly, making a hum of disproval. "That's not a very good reason to end a relationship with such a great girl. No offense," his Aunt added on, glancing briefly at Sora. Sora just stood back, watching with interest and concern at their conversation.

Tai's eyes fluttered angrily, and he answered coldly. "Good enough reason for me. And that's all that really matters, isn't it?" Tai glared fiercely at his Aunt, as if daring her to question him.

"I suppose," she admitted reluctantly.

"Good. Moving on," Tai said, grabbing Sora's shoulder and gently steering him away from his Aunt. Apparently, it wasn't enough for her though.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Tai's shoulder tensed and he turned around angrily. "We have other people to see. I'm sorry."

She waved him off, rolling his eyes. "Fine then. Have a good night."

"I plan to."

They talked with Tai's other relatives for a few hours (successfully avoiding his Aunt Marie), before Sora pulled him out onto his balcony. Tai groaned appreciatively, letting the air cool him down. Sora smiled softly at him, leaning against the edge.

"It's beautiful," she muttered softly, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

"It really is," Tai agreed. Sora nodded mutely and Tai groaned.

"What's bothering you?" He asked, placing a concerned hand on her shoulder. She tried to shrug, but eventually turned to him.

"What was your aunt talking about?"

Tai played dumb. "Which one, Sora? We talked to a lot of my aunts," he attempted to grin nonchalantly, but winced when he say Sora's glare fixed upon him.

"You know who I mean, Taichi," Sora stated bluntly.

Tai was about to argue, but slowly dropped his shoulders. "Yeah . . . I guess I do."

"So," Sora said gently, "Are you going to tell me what she was talking about?"

"Ex-girlfriend," Tai mumbled into his hands. Sora put her hands on her hips and glared at her boyfriend with alarming intensity.

"I know _that_, Tai. Can we please cut the crap? I just want to know what happened to you! Joe and Izzy won't tell me anything and now your aunt . . ." Sora trailed off, not sure how to continue. Tai sighed, resigned.

"Y-you're right."

Sora's eyes softened as she saw him stumble and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You don't have to."

"I want to," he countered gently. "You deserve to know."

He laughed shakily, pulling himself off from the balcony ledge. "Well, it all started my Sophomore year . . ."

**XxFlashbackxX**

_Tai laughed happily, watching Izzy and Joe (rather animatedly) argue about the pros and cons of ranch dressing. _

"_There are such freaks," Mimi said truthfully, adoration seeping into her voice. _

"_Of course," Matt agreed, laughing. _

"_But they're _our_ dorks," Tai pointed out, cracking a grin. Matt and Mimi smiled and nodded. Tai turned his attention back to his food, hungrily scraping his fork against the bottom of his plate to get the last drops of his pasta sauce. _

"_Ummm . . . Tai?" A new voice broke in and Tai looked up in alarm. _

"_Kali?" He said, surprised. Not that they didn't get along, but they really didn't hang out outside of the classroom. _

"_Err, yeah," she spoke nervously, pulling on her blue top. He dropped his fork on his plate, slightly disappointed he wouldn't get to continue eating for awhile. Kali was nice, but she sure liked to talk. Matt and Mimi pointedly turned away, but Tai knew they were listening in. Matt shoulders were tensed and Tai mentally told himself to ask him about that later. _

"_So . . . what's up?"_

_Kali shrugged and smiled widely (though it looked a little fake to Tai). "I was just, err, wondering if you wanted to go . . . on a date with me?" Kali offered weakly, her cheeks turning slightly pink. Tai's eyes widened and he stared at her in surprise. _

"_I, err, sure," he stammered out. Kali grinned, replacing her timid exterior with one of confidence. _

"_Great. Pick me up at seven?" _

"_. . . Sure."_

"_Good," she smiled widely, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. Tai blushed and his hand unconsciously went up to the spot where Kali's lips had just been. _

"_Stop blushing, Kamiya, you look a sixth grader," Mimi chided lightly. Tai's face burned, but he nodded, taking his hand off. _

"_I'm just kidding!" Mimi yelled, coming up to hug her friend. _

"_That's awesome, Tai. I'm so happy for you," she continued, squeezing him tightly. _

"_Thanks," Tai murmured, still somewhat dazed. _

"_Maybe you should reconsider." Matt's thin voice broke into Mimi's happy chatter and both Mimi and Tai looked up at him in surprise. _

"_Why?" Tai questioned, growing suspicious. _

_Matt's eyes widened, sensing their wariness and he tried to appear calm. _

"_Well, it's just . . . you don't know her very well, do you?" _

"_No," Tai admitted, his gaze flicking back to Kali's table. _

_Mimi put her hands on her hips, "But he will. That's the whole point, Einstein." _

"_Still," Matt continued, ignoring the murderous looks his girlfriend was throwing him. _

"_Don't you think you should, I don't know, consider all your options?" _

_Tai stared at his best friend intently. "Why? Is there something you want to tell me?" _

_Matt's eyes flickered briefly to a table filled with some popular kids and he sighed deeply. "No. No, it's nothing. Never mind. I hope you guys have fun together." Matt smiled unconvincingly and Tai regarded him carefully. _

"_If you say so . . ."_

"_HE DOES!" Mimi screeched. _

"_Fine," Matt said blankly. _

"_Fine," Tai echoed. _

_-o- _

"_I can't believe we've been going out for _two_ months," Kali bubbled, latching herself on to Tai's side. _

"_Yeah, it's great!" Tai agreed, smiling brightly at the girl on his arm. She laughed and kissed him softly. _

"_You're family is so cute! I love you're little sister." _

"_They love you too. It's kind of weird actually . . . I've never seen them accept someone so willingly," Tai mused out loud, his gaze shifting to the night sky._

"_We could take that as a sign," Kali said slyly, gazing up at Tai under her eyelashes. Tai grinned brightly and wrapped his fingers around her smaller ones. _

"_Yeah." _

_-o- _

"_What are we doing here?" Tai asked happily, staring up at Kali's enormous house. _

"_Y-you've been here before. It's nothing special," Kali stammered. Her face was a shade too pale and she was squeezing Tai's fingers extra hard. _

"_Yeah, I know. I just thought we were going to that new restaurant." _

_Kali laughed unsteadily and smiled at Tai. "I'd kind of rather be at my house." _

"_I'd kind of rather be at your house, too," Tai smiled, his eyes sparkling. Kali bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes misting over slightly as she gazed up at Tai. _

_Tai's eyes grew concerned and his finger flicked out to wipe a stray tear away. _

"_Hey, you okay?" He asked, highly concerned for his girlfriend. _

_Kali nodded, her eyes tired. "I'm fine, honey. Let's just get going." They walked silently to the front door, Tai's posture relaxed and Kali's nervous. She opened up the door anticlimactically and brashly announced their entrance. _

"_So . . . we're here," Kali spoke loudly, her voice vibrating off the long walls._

"_Yeah," Tai agreed, regarding his girlfriend with a strange look. _

_Tai put an arm around her shoulder and studied her carefully. "You sure you're alright?" _

_Kali nodded feigning happiness, but finally sighed. "I . . . guess. I'm fine. Just a little nervous."_

_Tai's face contorted into one of confusion. "Why?" _

_Kali closed her eyes, breathing deeply, before opening them up. "Just . . . it kind of feels like today's going to be special."_

_Tai nodded, "Yeah, it really does." Kali smiled sadly at the brunet for a minute, before pulling him forward to her father's den. They stayed there for an hour or so, watching TV, cuddling, and laughing, before Kali's face turned suddenly stony. _

"_Tai," she began, turning towards him. _

"_Yeah?" _

_Kali's eyes flickered briefly towards the corner of the room before turning her attention back to her boyfriend. She breathed deeply, tears almost threatening to spill from her eyes. _

"_I . . . love you."_

_Tai's eyes widened. They had been dating for a little over two months, but neither of them had mentioned the "L" word. It was kind of an unspoken agreement. Tai didn't tell almost anyone he loved them and Kali knew that, so she never pressured him. He kind of thought he would be the first one to say it, but now he knew he had to answer. _

_Tai's mouth was dry and he licked his lips. "I . . . uh, love you too."_

_Kali's eyes widened and if it was possible, she looked even more miserable. _

"_Really? You're really, really sure?" She pleaded him silently with her eyes and if Tai didn't know better, she almost looked like she wanted him to take it back. _

"_Yeah. I'm sure," Tai spoke smoothly, suddenly believing the words from his lips. _

"_Oh God, Tai," Kali stuttered, throwing her arms around his neck. He stiffened for a moment, before quickly hugging her back and kissing her softly on top of the head. _

"_You mean so much to me, Kali." _

"_Hmm," she muttered from his shoulder. _

"_I don't know what I would do if I lost you," he murmured truthfully, stroking her hair. _

_If it was possible, her body shook harder and she tightened her grip on him. _

"_I'm so, so sorry." _

"_For what?" _

"_Nothing . . . forget I said anything."_

"_Alright . . . "_

-o-

_Tai's eyes were wide and he was staring up at the TV in his classroom in complete shock. _

"_**I . . . uh, love you, too,"**__ his own voice stammered out from the TV. He was nearly frantic, but refused to meet the eyes of his incredulous classmates. Who had gotten this tape? Why was their a tape of him and Kali? Why where they playing in every classroom of the school? What the _hell_ was going on? _

_The video cut to another scene and Tai watched it anxiously, blocking out the murmured whispers of his classmates, his teacher yelling in the phone at the office to get "This darn thing off! What is wrong with you people?" He even ignored Mimi, Izzy, and Joe's anxious stares that he could feel boring into the back of his head. _

"_**You mean so much to me, Kali." **_

"_**I don't know what I would do if I lost you," **__his own voice echoed carefully around the room. The screen quickly cut to Kali and a group of her friends. _

"_Hey Kamiya," a particular nasty jock called out, waving to the screen theatrically. _

_Another one of her friends pushed him out of the way and smiled sharply at the camera. _

"_Kali has something she wants to say to you, honey," she muttered, before breaking into laughter. The camera quickly moved to Kali's face. It was blank and completely devoid of emotion. Her voice was hollow and extremely un-Kali like. _

"_I have to tell you the truth, Tai," she began, her eyes not blinking. _

"_I don't love you," her mouth turned into a slightly malicious smile, her eyes flickering anxiously to her friends who were laughing in the background. _

"_It was all a ruse. I never loved you. Heck, I never even liked you. You're not that good looking, you play a dumb sport, and you're not that good at kissing," she spoke unwavering, ticking the reasons off her fingers. Her last sentence made her friends erupt into laughter again. _

"_You're just easy to play, Kamiya. As if _I_ could ever love _you_." She laughed bitterly, her eyes only showing the slightest bit of remorse. _

_She smiled at the camera. "And do you know who gave us this brilliant idea? None other than you're 'best friend'," she used air quotes bitingly. _

"_That's right, Kamiya. Matt Ishida sold you out. He's the one who gave us the idea. I guess your friendship just isn't as important as popularity. Thanks again, Matt! We have a seat at our table all for you!" Kali's eyes watered noticeably, but she quickly hit a button, ending their broadcast. Tai could only blink stupidly at the TV for awhile. The classroom was (for once) deathly silent. It was quickly broken by an indignant screech. _

"_OH. MY. GOD." Mimi slammed her fist on the table after each word. She rose quickly, with Izzy and Joe on right behind her. _

"_I will kill him!" She screamed darkly. The teacher quickly tried to silence her, but surprisingly, it was Izzy who dealt with him. _

"_Shut up," Izzy flicked a glance at the teacher, whose eyes were now wide, with his mouth hanging open. _

"_If you three don't get a hold of yourselves - "_

_Joe stared the teacher down, for once not caring about his grades. "We'll get detention? Suspended? Fine. I don't care." _

"_He's dead," Mimi muttered with finality. She was about to walk out the door, but a tired voice stopped her in her tracks. _

"_Stop." _

_Mimi whirled around, her anger replaced with concern. "Tai?" _

"_I'm fine," he answered numbly. _

"_No, you're not," Joe countered, stepping closer to his friend. _

"_I am. If I say it, it's true, right? Trust me." _

"_But - "_

"_No 'buts', Izzy. Can we just get this over with?" He directed his last question towards the teacher who nodded, completely dazed. _

"_No way, I'm not - !"_

"_Sit down, Mimi." Mimi opened her mouth to protest and for the first time throughout this whole ordeal, Tai raised his voice. _

"_Sit _down_, Mimi."_

_She nodded reluctantly, making her way back towards her seat. Izzy and Joe followed, throwing concerned glances at their mutual best friend. _

"_I'm fine," Tai repeated to himself. "I'm fine." _

**XxEnd FlashbackxX**

"After that everything kind of fell apart. Mimi and Matt were already rocky and this almost pushed them over the edge. Mimi was furious, of course. I think," he smiled, "that she even slapped Kali, but I could never get a straight answer out of any of them."

Sora just stared at her boyfriend in horror and concern, but made no move to interrupt him.

"Of course, the thing Matt did after that kind of ruined it for them. We quickly just broke apart. Like that," Tai snapped his fingers and rested his head against the cement wall.

Sora stared at him for a minute, before finding her voice.

"How . . . How could he?"

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Who? Matt?"

"Yes," Sora hissed angrily.

Tai shrugged indifferently. "Don't hate him before you know him, Sora. He has a lot more depth to him then most people think. He told me the truth back then . . . I just didn't believe him."

"With good reason," Sora spit out angrily.

"Don't judge, Sora."

Sora put her hands on her hips and stared at her boyfriend. "Well, what happened then?"

"One day, they called him to hang out. He accepted, of course. They started talking and apparently I came up. One thing led to another and Matt accidentally mentioned how hard it was for me to trust people. I know he didn't do it on purpose. In fact, I think they might have snuck him a little beer."

"How would you know?"

Tai shrugged, "I don't. But I know Matt. And no matter what other terrible things he did, I know he wouldn't have sold me out. He didn't do on purpose. And I know for a fact he didn't have anything to do with their little trick. He just gave them the idea."

"How could _she_ do that to you?" Sora demanded angrily, feeling unprejudiced hatred for a girl she had never even met.

"I don't know," Tai admitted softly. "Sometimes, I try to believe she really didn't want to. That they forced her. That maybe . . . she loved me too. But that's stupid." He smiled widely at his girlfriend.

"But I'm over it. It happened so long ago. I don't care about it. I don't care about her. I only care about _you_."

"I'll never hurt you," Sora pledged.

Tai smiled widely and pulled her to his chest. "I know, Sora."

"I love you," Sora said, before clasping her hand over her mouth. "No, no! Never mind. Never mind!"

Tai raised a brow, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "So you don't love me?"

Sora's eyes widened and she looked near hysterics. "No, no! I do! I do! I just don't want to tell you right after Kali and that probably hurt so much and - "

"I love you too."

Sora looked up at her boyfriend in shock. "B-but how?" Tai looked at her bemused.

"I mean, how can you love . . . after that?"

Tai shrugged, laughing. "'Cause some people deserve to be loved. I'm not that innocent, Sora. Don't think I'm perfect. I'm far from it."

"I know."

"Good."

He leaned down to kiss her, but quickly pulled away and looked around suspiciously.

"No video cameras?"

Sora smiled, with tears in her eyes. "No. No video cameras." She pushed herself up, kissing him.

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

Jun sighed, closing her eyes briefly, letting her head fall unceremoniously on the stiff chair. She had been there for a few hours with nothing to do. No matter how much she loved her brother, it was hard just sitting there. That's why she was currently sitting in the waiting room, desperate to get away from the cramped room Davis was in.

"Miss?" A quiet, soothing voice broke Jun out of her reverie and she reluctantly looked at the person who had disturbed her almost slumber.

"What?" She asked, covering a yawn with her hand. He shuffled on his feet, looking slightly embarrassed. _'Must be a newbie,'_ Jun thought wryly.

"Are you Jun Motomiya?"

Jun's eyes narrowed and she stared at him suspiciously. "Yes. Why?"

He nodded to himself, glancing at his clipboard. "And you are related to Davis Motomiya?"

A bubble of fear rose from the pit of her stomach and Jun (who had never been one for subtleness) grabbed the intern.

"Yes. Why? What's wrong with my brother? What happened?"

He stared at her hands for a second, but didn't move them. In fact, he actually smiled at her.

"Nothing's wrong, Miss. We actually have some good news."

Jun regarded him carefully. "Which is?"

He cleared his throat, reading from his notes. "As you know, for approximately two weeks, Davis Motomiya was in Level One of coma. Meaning, of course, that he was in a deep coma with no response to stimuli. Somewhere in his third week, we found he had drifted into Level Two."

Jun's mouth fell open. "Level Two? That's good, right?"

The intern nodded. "Very good. We informed your parents, but we weren't sure if they told you."

"They didn't mention it," Jun muttered darkly.

He gave her a sympathetic look, before continuing. "As I was saying, sometime in his third week he moved to Level Two. In our tests, he started responding to pain."

Jun's eyes widened. "You put my brother in pain?"

He nodded, "It's the only way. Either way, he responded. He moved slightly in incoherent directions and his brain activity increased."

"And now?" Jun prodded, excitedly.

"Now," the intern nodded, happily. "He is in Level Three. His responses are more specific. For example, our head nurse said his name and instead of his usual clumsy movement, he turned his head towards her."

"That a boy," Jun muttered fondly, too excited to care if she sounded weird.

"So he can hear us?" Jun continued.

"Yes . . . he just won't be able to answer verbally."

Jun nodded, but still looked excited. "This is a good sign, isn't it?"

The intern smiled. "It's a great sign. He's on his way to recovery, Miss."

"Can I see him?"

He nodded, "That's actually what we wanted. Studies have shown patients respond more to familiarity."

Jun sighed, falling back into the chair momentarily.

"I love him," she muttered, her mouth curved into a smile.

"And I'm sure he loves you." The intern extended an arm. "Shall we?"

Jun nodded, her lips turning into a smirk. "Let's do this thing! Here I come, Davis!"

**xXx**Xx**X**xX**xXx**

**

* * *

**

. . . Wow. That was long. I'm not sure I'm going to do that again. It took so much time. D:

I'm sure it's chock full of mistakes, but I'm too tired to go over it. Also, for the record, I researched coma and this is what I came up with. I'm sure it's not completely right, but please don't complain. I'm a creative writer not a technical one.

Please, please review. This took me so long and I would really LOVE to hear what you guys have to say.


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